Two Towns, One Army -----(Harvest Moon Love & War)
by Frogsnack
Summary: Phillip and twin sister Lillian are forced to fight for opposite sides in the war that divided a mountain. Who will help them unite the broken paradise that despite everything, they've come to love and believe in? A story about bonds. Lillian- Cam or Kana? Phillip- Laney or Georgia? If you ship some other couple, comment- I may just do something about it!
1. Prologue: Bloodfeud

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As it was told to the children of the following generations, the Battle of the Two Towns was a fable of mishap and misunderstanding, a cautionary tale of what could go wrong when mankind no longer loved his neighbor. It was the kind of story that was told differently in every household, according to their memoirs. It was a story that outsiders rarely understood but knew never to mention, and followed by an unspoken rule of non-interference.

But to the villagers who lived through it, who were there the day the final flood swept away the crops and the animals alike, whose parents, children and friends were buried in the mines when the earth shook, there was nothing more ghastly, nothing more harrowing, and nothing that could ever bring the towns back together again.

Modern rumors say everything was started with an argument about cuisine, but it was more about trust than anything. The crux of it was truly the nuances in the cooking- some people living in bamboo-rich Konohana had been for generations, lactose intolerant, while on the Bluebell side there was the occasional outbreak of salmonella from uncooked fish. As the two villages had once gracefully shared feasts and festivals, their limited resources, differences in tastes and culture proved to truly be the rice stalk that crashed the pony cart.

The true rift formed as the villages gathered at the end of a certain season for a traditional moon viewing, when a young child nearly died of food poisoning from sushi made from a not so fresh fish. Perhaps unfairly, Konohana was blamed. Although the dish had been prepared by a young Bluebeller who had in fact learned to make sashimi from someone on the greener side, the kind intent of the trainer was lost in error of bad preparation. Several from the Bluebell side claimed that Konohana had no awareness of the danger of their way of cooking and furthermore implied that they were unfit to even teach it to other people. Things escalated further in the next joint holiday, when an embittered old Bluebell native developed milk curry, which over half of the Konohana villagers were unable to eat. For Konohana, who had practically invented curry, the development of milk curry was a slap-in-the-face styled assault with dairy products.

The next few joint town events were either scarcely attended (which was embarrassing for the organizing mayors), or came to blows (which did a great deal in solidifying the dispute, but were said to have been very satisfying for those who were victims of the various food poisonings that were now becoming commonplace). It wasn't until events unique to each town were desecrated by vandals or interrupted by insurgents from across the mountain that things became truly violent- Nobody wanted their newly-ribboned prize cow to be pelted with turnips, or their crop fields to be invaded by trampling sheep and gnawing cows, but it happened anyways.

Eventually blows became armed militias policing events and villagers traveling at their own risk to the other side. The tunnel mine became a primary battleground as it was the fastest way across and left the town who didn't control its entrances the most vulnerable to attack and raid. Mayors fueled the rivalry by fighting over the only pass that lead into the mountains and to both towns, where they would kidnap visitors and force them to their village to fight.

Where was the Harvest Goddess in all this? She had taken up travel that year (word has it she went Dun DUN DUNNN 500,000 steps or so) and came back to a forlorn, forgotten church (her clergy having been run off for trying to stop the fighting) and a mountain of destruction, where the paths were strewn with stolen crops and stranded chickens and the occasional corpse could be seen stuck in the thick tree roots at the bottom of the river. The lake at the summit was nearly forgotten as sacred ground in those days and she found herself forgotten and even… lonely.

She grieved at the negligence of the villagers and bemoaned the tattered state of her vast forest and weakened farmlands. She walked the mountain at all hours of the night, howling in pain at the blood that had been shed while she journeyed. It is said that her cries so scared the creatures of the mountain that even the wolves ran in fear, never to be seen from again.

Upon her dissent from the mountain the Harvest Goddess tied up her long flowing peridot locks into two wide buns, to remind herself to never forget that there were two very torn apart towns that she had to stand between and bring together. She buried their feud in the tunnel and washed the dead away in a flash flood, forbidding the mayors from making offerings at her spring.

It was not until several generations later that the origin of the hatred began to fade into a distant memory, dusty records kept in neat shelves behind the welcome counter of a brightly-lit town hall, wardened by a Mayor who had never stepped foot beyond the summit or met the Harvest Goddess, a mayor whose hatred of the other side was habitual, and though real, wasn't founded.

Into this world rode twins Lillian and Phillip, arriving with just a tiny cart and a dream. The wind was at their backs and the smell of fresh dew in the air around them, they truly believed they had found a paradise.

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Author's Note: Comments are appreciated and helpful- I take all feedback into consideration!

This is Phillip and Lillian's story,. but if you have a favorite character that you'd like to know more about, I'm spending a lot of time trying to figure out everyone's individual motivations and I can work them in a bit more.

Aside from that- it's nice to meet you all!

-The Frog


	2. Chapter 2: Awkward Angles

The sun shown in glorious rays from rain-drenched woodlands as the little ashen pony galloped along the wooded paths. There were no sounds other than the shaking leaves and ripples of the few remaining droplets on the water, and the creaking of four little wooden wheels: the rain had finally ceased.

From her nest in the back of their little hobbled- together cart, Lillian smiled and stretched her arms gratefully, peeling the dew-covered burlap away from her- itching where it had stuck to her bare feet. She vaguely wondered where her shoes had gone off to, but the breeze felt too good and the rocking of the cart made her wish she could stay asleep for hours. The sun started to warm her and she could hear a few birds chirping in the distance, it was all she could do to raise her eyebrows slightly when her brother called over his shoulder from the front.

"Lil? You awake?"

She peeked an eye open and was blinded by a shot of sunlight from far above the green canopy. "…yes?" Her voice was hoarse from lack of use.

"Liar." He muttered. "Are you looking out for landmarks? You're the navigator!" His voice competed with the soft turning of wooden wheels and the wind that rushed past them feeling oh, so good on her face.

She blinked. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"I said landmarks!" He increased the volume of his voice.

"What kind of-"

"You know- the path is supposed to diverge, but before that there's an abandoned lodge and some kind of natural landmark-"

Her light hair whipped in front of her face as she stuck her body over the edge of the cart, trying to see past the pony's backside and her brother's head. Why was she the navigator when he was the one who could see everything? Was she supposed to tell him what they had already passed? She rolled her eyes skyward.

That didn't make any sense.

Finally as she squinted something stood out on the path ahead. "Like what- those rocks on the path?"

"No-?" He turned back to look at her in confusion, his auburn hair flying into his cool gray eyes as he rode. Did he hear her right?

"The rocks- look out, idiot!"

He whipped his head back around in time to see a series of boulders blocking the path on the right side, and twisted the reigns around to the left just in time for the pony to evade and nearly send the cart flying into the trees banking that side.

"Lil! Hold on!" He yelled, increasing the galloping speed a bit to have more momentum to clear the rocks, he only had half the pathway to navigate in and didn't have anything to use to unwedge a stuck wheel. He was not about to slow down and risk losing his only chance to get past the roadblock.

He heard little hiccups in his sister's voice from the cart behind him as she tried to convince him otherwise.

"You- your Cra-z-zzy!" Her voice bumped with the cart as they began to get around and over the impasse.

He smiled a little at that, being careful not to lose focus on what he was doing. Phillip prided himself on being able to get through things like this. Of the two twins, he had the advantage of impulsivity, where as his chestnut-haired sister Lillian was better at planning things in advance and not so great on the spot. Sometimes they joked that they were each half of a functioning human being.

The sound of his sister freaking out in the back of the cart right now really drove that point home. When was she going to grow up? Everything would be fine in like, five minutes.

He turned back to the task at hand and said a few words under his breath to the little pony they had rented for the journey. What was her name again- who cares? He was just going to call her whatever he felt like, anyways. "Sorry girl." He said to her, patting her rump. "But you still need to go a bit faster!"

Her brother was crazy. Insane. _Did I capitalize that?_ She wondered to herself. _Yeah, Insane with a capital 'I'. That works._ He was actually spurring the poor beast on over this slick forest path, to get around some jagged rocks? Had she not just told him he was touched in the head?

And it made him go faster still. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped for a reality check for him, and soft landing for her- she was sure any minute now she'd be thrown from the cart and flying through the air-

Yup, just like that.

The cart had been traveling at breakneck speed and was mostly clear of the obstruction, but as fate would have it a thick, rotting log jutted out from the other side of the path and they had too much momentum to stop in time to walk the cart around it or move it out of the way. Lillian frantically grabbed for anything that would anchor her to the cart and ended up with the burlap cover and- was that one shoe?

And she went flying well over her brother's side and into the woods.

Phillip had braced for the impact and just caught sight of her as she took to the air, their eyes met for a half second and he saw the terror there, then she was gone over the side of long, sloping ledge. He had no more time to think or say anything as the pony jerked forward and sent him to the ground at an awkward angle, his leg nearly crushed under her weight and his body thrown to into the rocks.

The trees rustled overhead and closed over the path in a sudden gust of spring wind.

…

How long had it been since he'd passed out?

Phillip awoke with a strange tingling in his right shoulder and slightly blurred vision. The path had gotten darker, much darker and the pony was nowhere to be seen, having taken the splintered remains of their little cart with it. Little pieces of their few belongings had been dashed along the rocks that blocked the path, and could barely be seen going off into the distance, lit only by a few rays of early moonlight peeking from overhead.

He spent a moment in dazed confusion, trying to get his bearings and failing. What had just happened…?

_Right. Lil and I were on our way to the mountain villages… Did we go too far? She wasn't really navigating, but we… I made it past the small landslide and outcropping of rocks…_

Suddenly he felt as if a nightmare had woke him, and he jolted upright- looking in all directions, and wincing in the pain coming from his shoulder and legs.

"Lil!?" He called out, panic lacing an edge into his young voice. His call was greeted by the flight of a flock of small sparrows overhead from the line of trees jutting out against the side of the dirt road. His mind went racing and again, he got up too fast- this time to his feet. He had expected the pain, and withstood it silently, grinding his teeth.

_How far has she been thrown?_

His gray eyes scanned over the path ahead, it was sloping downwards a little bit and the ledge to the left went down for meters, off into the darkness. _Where should I start looking?_

"Lillian! Lil- where are you?! Call if you can hear me!"

He waited for several heartbeats; a bead of sweat raced down the corner of his neck and ran under the collar of his light travel vest, making him shiver. It was still a bit cold from the bitter winter, and he noticed the air was thinner on the mountain.

Or was he breathing too fast and going to hyperventilate?

_How long until I find her?_His mind began to overwhelm him with questions. _Are there wild animals? Is she in danger from them?_ _Why can't she answer me- did she pass out like I did?_

"Lillian! Lilly!" At the top of his lunges he yelled.

The faint howling of an owl brought him back to reality and he realized that none of his questions mattered right now. He remembered the terror on Lillian's face, her violet colored eyes wide in shock, with fear. He chose to focus on her face in his mind.

No matter what was going on, he was going to find her. He made his way down the slope to the left and started to navigate the forest.

It was then that he heard something else, something that was in direct contrast to the soft rustling of the evening leaves and the owl in the background.

Voices.


	3. Chapter 3: Fire and Stormclouds

For some reason (probably instinct) Phillip found himself ducking into the underbrush as they approached the pathway. He chastised himself immediately for being rash.

_It will look weird now if I just come bounding out of the bushes…_

"Here it is all right. What Enrique saw. Somebody wrecked their cart." A deep male tone broke into the quiet rustling of leaves.

"It does pay to have somebody scout from time to time. Do you think it was one o' them? They wouldn't dare come this close to our side after what happened last week." Said a girl. Her voice was thick with bitterness and a hint of an… accent?

"Hmm," said the first voice, which belonged to a man with a very imposing figure. "Well he said there was a person out here and he didn't have anything to carry him on. Not that I think he would've done it for free. We'd better start looking. The sooner we get them off this mountain the safer we'll all be. Georgia?"

"You don't have to tell me." Said the girl. "I'll have 'em found and in Bluebell a'fore that fool on the other side can even tie on his chaps and come ridin' to meet us!"

The man's figure laced his hands together and laughed quietly. That must have been what he wanted to hear. The effect was kind of creepy on someone of his stature, and Phillip again was at a loss. Should he come out, or…?

Georgia, the girl with the accent, wasted no time. She'd been leading a mid-sized horse while the group approached and was in the saddle in a flash. The animal snorted proudly, as if ready to go with her to the ends of the earth. "I'm worried for their animal, too. I reckon it spooked and runoff. Score another creature for the right side If'n we can find it. Or the rider."

She raised the reigns to command the horse, but stopped short, staring.

Phillip had heard enough. These people were all he might see out here, and he needed help. They were prepared to search for him, help him. They might have an idea about Lillian or the resources to get her out of here in one piece. If she couldn't respond she was out cold, like he had been. She could even possibly… well possibly nothing. He wasn't going to let himself think that way. Sure, it had been a surprise the way they appeared, but they said it was unsafe on the mountain and they were worried for his horse. Wasn't that enough?

He tried to swallow his doubts, but a lump formed in his throat. There was something about the way they'd worded it…

_Too bad! Just tell them you need help finding your sister…_ The young traveler massaged his shoulders and took a weary step out into the clearing.

Three pairs of eyes stared back at him. The large, very blond male raised his eyebrows, looking almost… bemused at the sight of the new stranger.

The tall, spindly young man who had said nothing through the whole thing had almost no expression on his face, not even boredom. Resignation? Indifference? Phillip couldn't tell what is was. He had an air of disappointment about him. He hid narrow eyes under a deceptively cheerful looking and stylish purple hat and continued in his habit of non-involvement through complete silence.

It was the girl that reacted the most at Phillip's sudden appearance. Possibly because she had been seconds away from galloping off and prepared for action, but whatever the reason she immediately launched herself in his direction and he found himself in a choke hold with a blade pressed against his neck.

_Where did she get a knife from, her saddlebag maybe...?_

He half stepped, half stumbled back a bit in surprise and nearly tripped over her feet, wincing when her fingers dug into his shoulder from behind to keep him standing.

"Who are ya?" She demanded, her accent sharp in his ears. "I ain't messin' around! You out here spyin' in our lands? Konohana sent ya, right?! Yer a little too close to the border for my liking!"

The blade was cold to his neck and Phillip instantly regretted his decision to appear to the group. He stammered to come up with an answer, all the while scanning the faces around him in confusion. "That was my, our cart-"

"OUR cart?" She bit out. 'Ya mean you are from that sushi-smellin', backwords arsed-"

The man in the hat stepped forward and shook his head slightly at Georgia, whose red hair was flipping around in the wind, some even into Phillip's face as he stood, wide-eyed, not wanting to make a move. The sky above was darkening and although there was no rainfall now, it seemed there might be soon? The chill in the air was still very much alive and moving over them as they stood on the weary mountain path. Maybe that impending fact had not escaped her notice either, and was why she had stopped her ranting in mid-sentence.

Then he realized the quiet one had signaled her to stop. Did that mean he was in charge here? He looked too young for that, but his eyes were...

"Georgia, he's been hurt. Look at his arm." The guy said, snapping Phillip back into the moment at hand.

Phillip didn't have to look to know it was messed up. What had been a dull ache became more acute with the sudden movements of the last few minutes. He suddenly became aware that what he thought was a drop of sweat rolling under his collar earlier could have just as easily been blood. He couldn't feel too well on that side. If that was from adrenaline, strain or actual injury, he couldn't tell. There were more important things going on, and at least his vision, though still blurry, wasn't getting worse.

He turned his attention to the tall guy in the hat, who looked just a few years older than him and pondered. Although he was obviously a quiet person he sure had plenty of calm authority about him to make a girl like this shut her mouth without speaking a single word.

The girl- her hair was just like her personality, wasn't it? Fiery and unforgiving, tamed not even by the nature around them, the whipping wind or the suspended rain caught in rolling turmoil in the tear-stained sky above them. For a fleeting moment he pictured her, standing here even in the middle of a torrential downpour, stopped by nothing and no one and suppressed a shiver. _But wait… did she just say Konohana sent him? Did that mean these were the villagers, from the other town? What had they called it?_

"A-are you all from Bluebell?" He ventured, addressing them for the first time.

They said nothing, but her small blade loosened considerably from his neck. Her eyebrows rose in suspicion. "Are you really pretendin' not to know, now?"

"I- I don't really know what's going on." Phillip began. "I am traveling into the mountain, I mean we were-my sister and I were- she was thrown from the cart." He started to shake from shock and a bit of anger at what was going on. "We were on our way to see the local villages; we're just doing research for our own sake, not for anyone from a fish loving…" He trailed off, not being able to remember what she has said in her moments of accusatory anger.

Georgia saw that he wasn't going to fight with her and dropped the knife from his neck, shoving him about a foot away from her. She regarded him coolly, not ready to believe him.

"Who cares where it is, can you help my find my sister?!" He interrupted his own train of thought. "She's not answering when I call her name, and I don't know how long I had passed out for." There was desperation, now in him as he spoke. "She could be fine, she could be just knocked out, she could… could be…ugh." He buried his face in his hands and choked on the last word, nobody could make out what it was he had said.

It was in that one instant the expression changed on Georgia's face from suspicious rage to one of concern. Before she could think about what she was doing, she had taken a step towards the young newcomer only to jump back again in surprise when he exploded out with, "And if you delay my search for even one more second I swear I will do everything in my power to make you regret it!"

She stared at him, dumbfounded, arm still half outstretched.

The tall, imposing man laughed and his enourmous shoulders shook. Even the quiet guy smiled a bit, tilting his hat more over his eyes with his hand. "He got you there, Geo." He told her simply. "I guess the element of surprise can work both ways."

"Shut yer face, Cam." She hissed under her breath, recovering quickly, which only served to establish a real smile on his face.

Cam walked passed the redhead, whose hands were clenched in fists at her side, her eyes staring hard at the ground.

He reached out to pat the boy's shoulder. "Sorry for the misunderstanding. We can definitely help you look for her. "I'm Cam, by the way. Short for Kamil. I know you've met Georgia- Geo to her friends-" She looked up sharply at the idea of this boy every being her friend but was ignored- "And this is Howard."

"Nice to meet you. Ask me anything." The older, huger man quipped congenially.

Phillip glared at the group silently for a moment and shrugged the older boy's hand off his shoulder. "I'm Phillip." He muttered.

"Phillip," Cam repeated. "And who are we looking for?"

"Lillian", Phillip said again, an edge in his voice. "My sister, Lillian."

Cam smiled, this time to himself. "Like the flower…" He said.


	4. Chapter 4: Run For It

It had easily been another hour, but Phillip couldn't tell for sure how long. The owl hadn't called again and aside from some rustling and whipping wind, there were not many other sounds. As they searched and he called out, he became more desperate to find her, thinking that by now she could even be… again he tried hard not to picture it. His only family, his twin sister, passed out in a river, drowning as her body was carried lifelessly downstream. Or bleeding and broken from injury, her life spilling out onto the grass as her bright lilac eyes dimmed and glazed over, left open forever... _Don't picture it_. He again admonished silently. "I'm so sorry Lil…" He muttered under his breath as they searched. "I should've slowed down and listened to you."

The petite red-headed girl rode slightly ahead of where he and Howard walked, as Cam had taken a different approach to the search, weaving into the forest when he could to get a better view through the thick, dark leaves. The young man was confident and focused in looking, and it quickly became obvious that he did want to help. Philip would have been grateful for this, if he could think of anything other than Lillian's safety right now.

Cam seemed to know the woods well, and often times would take a side path that veered in the opposite direction from the group, only to have circled back around later and rejoined them. Each time he did this Phillip looked over expectantly, only to have the young man's head shake slightly from side to side.

Howard, whose imposing figure made him easily the strongest of the four, was the most reluctant to actually enter the forest. He carried a tall walking stick as if he'd been hiking leisurely before the search began, but he stayed on the path and scanned the trees as the young men dashed around, looking like some kind of vanguard. Phillip stayed far away from him, again on an instinct that the very large, very blond, and very made-up looking man was set on edge, unpredictable. It didn't help that above his jutting masculine jaw there was a bright ribbon of red lipstick over thin, middle-aged lips and surrounded by a half day's stubble.

There would've been moonlight to see by were the sky clear as the moon waxed overhead, but it danced in and out of the imposing clouds above in a mockery of its position as the surrogate sun. When it did show through, gracing the path with illumination, the canopy would close and the trees would stand in attention, blocking its effect while the group searched. It was as if the entire mountain didn't want her to be found.

Through all this Georgia remained icy silent, her demeanor matching the rolling black clouds overhead. While they looked the road began to slope downwards, and Phillip once again had had enough.

"We've got to turn back. She must be in the other direction." He said desperately to Cam after the he had come down from a high embankment of trees and once again shook his head.

The young man just looked at him, jaw set and said nothing, green eyes flashing. Ahead, the redhead kept her horse at a steady pace.

Phillip stopped walking, not willing to go further. "She isn't this way. I need to go back."

Cam stopped walking too, but was immediately corrected by Howard, who placed a firm hand on the young man's neck and pushed him forward by it. "You know the rules, Cam." He said coldly. "Keep moving. We're almost there."

Cam smiled without humor as if he'd expected the correction, but remained silent, beginning to walk forward again.

All at once Phillip got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

They were helping him search, right?

It had been a while since they'd seen any leftover pieces of the cart or other indications of the pony's flight after the crash, and the fork in the road the twins were looking for had been passed a long time ago. The group had opted to go right at the fork and down the mountain. But what if Lillian had recovered, gone for help, or been throw more to the left?

He couldn't leave it alone. Phillip was becoming convinced that they were on the wrong path, traveling further and further away from her, and the odd behavior and uneasiness of everyone in the group told him that more was going on than they were going to tell him.

The young traveler stared at them as they kept their pace without him, his gray eyes narrowing in thought. He nearly turned to run back up the mountain alone, but something told him he was supposed to go with the group quietly. What made him feel that way? He wasn't a hostage here, was he?

His dizziness had passed, and although he had no desire to be stranded out here alone again, all he could think of was that Lil shouldn't have to be, either.

Quietly he took a few steps back, although Howard was only a pace or two ahead and seemed to be moving slower to allow him to catch up.

_That's not going to happen_, he thought, the hair on his neck prickling up. It was now or never and he knew it.

_Just a few more steps back, then I'm gonna turn and run for it!_

As he was falling back and trying to find a good part of the forest to melt into and double back before he could be pursued, Howard stopped walking entirely. His big body turned back towards Phillip, beady mascara-framed eyes boring into his.

Phillip felt like he had been struck, but the man just laced his hands together politely. "Phillip, I know you're concerned for your sister, but the mountain isn't a safe place for you. We can resume our search in the morning." His tone was patient, and made Phillip's breath catch in his throat.

"Well I appreciate what you've done so far, but I'm going back." He said firmly.

Howard whistled a signal for Georgia to halt her horse, and Cam turned back to look, his expression indifferent.

"I know it's getting colder and the mountain could have dangerous wild animals. You've all helped me out a lot already; I can't impose on you for further when you all want to return home. I'm thankful that you lended your support so far." He directed his eyes mostly at Cam, who was the only person to actually help. "But I have no intention of waiting to search in the morning. From here on out I will go and search for her myself."

And he turned on his heel to stalk into the darkness, praying that no one took it upon themselves to follow. There was something about this situation that was wrong; he'd started to feel like they were herding him somewhere. He tried to control his pace against the rapid kicks of panic that were coursing through him, his heart beating madly in his ears.

Once again, the red head was the fastest to react, swinging the nose of her mare around swiftly and pushing her towards the back of the group where everyone had stopped, listening to the newcomer's announcement.

Phillip, who was preparing himself mentally to have to escape from Howard's grasp, lost all shred of the dignity of just walking away and at the sound of hooves on sodden dirt coming from behind, launched himself for the bushes in a strong sprint.

He almost made it on time.

Georgia -hair flashing wildly in the tiny breaks of moonlight- had beaten him to the edge of the tree line with three few bounds of her mare's powerful legs. The animal regarded him coolly with dark eyes and tossed her mane, blocking the way back up the mountain with another snort. She patted the mare's flank out of habit in reward.

Phillip feinted to the right, the horse moved with him. He dodged to the left, again she kept up. He stopped trying to get around and tensed, expecting at any moment for the girl to attack him again.

"Howard said we can't go back." She said as if it was the law. "I recon you don't know us all that well, but we aren't going to leave you out here and just go walkin' back. We can't." The look she gave him was still icy, but with a hint of a reason.

"It's my decision to make." He growled at her. "Now MOVE!" In a moment that caught her by surprise, he picked up a long wooden switch from the ground and snapped its leafless end at the horse, striking her smartly on the side.

The mare reared up- and as a testament to her skill Georgia kept saddled without even holding on to the reigns- but even she couldn't keep the beast from jolting off down the path as she struggled for control. "No- girl- Dakota!" She admonished as the animal fled.

Not willing to run any longer, Phillip whirled back to face Howard and Cam. "Anyone else that doesn't want to actually help us had better try to stop me right now." He challenged.


	5. Chapter 5: Konohana Clinic

The spring winds carried leaves throughout the village, chasing petals over the fields and dropping them into the silent creek that ran through it without complaint. To the south of the stream an orchard showcased the best fruit trees that Konohana had to offer, it was a testament to the hard working patience that characterized this place and people so well that they produced fruit in any season. Mako, the one-eyed and gruff owner of the orchard, had never told anyone his secret of the full bloom, so his personal trees were the only ones that did that.

Standing on the lone bridge that spanned the creek was the mayor's son, a small boy of about nine years old who had been put out of the house to get some exercise before it was time to take up study. Rahi had paused on the red cedar bridge, taking in the view of the sakura blossoms before having to go back inside. He wondered what Ying was up to, and if today would be any different from all the other day's he'd come to expect in town.

A part of him loved his peaceful life, packed with days of walking the town and playing with the tiny pink-clad girl who had been sent here by her parents for her health. She often had trouble breathing if startled and he worried when he was unable to see her- even their play was simple games and involved no running. He longed to go and pick her some flowers- she loved sending them to her parents- but didn't dare leave the security provided by their northern border. Besides, Gombe would be outside this time of day and would stop him if he tried getting past. It was one of the reasons that his shop was so far out of the main village, after all.

Rahi scratched an itch on his raven head and wondered if Kana could take him. They couldn't go far- Konohana had lost the last cooking contest and with it the rights to forage the heights for the week. If they were seen too close to the summit it could be trouble. The villages were still very much at war with each other, but the current mayors had actually done a lot to channel the anger of the past into competitions like the cooking contest.

Still, Kana had promised to take him riding, and the mountain was the best place to do that.

Rahi shivered in a gust of wind and wondered how long it had been since there was a death from the conflict. A few years? He didn't remember it too well. But he knew that his mother Ina had taken it upon herself to end the bloodshed. Did it have something to do with his father's disappearance? He thought so- usually she was straightforward with her only son who was to be mayor himself one day- but what had happened to his dad was and off-limits topic. He sighed, wondering if Ying missed her parents more than he missed his father.

Absentmindedly his thoughts turned to the new arrival, his eyes scanning over the clinic across the road where she was taken. It had been days since her accident, and she still wasn't ready to leave their care yet. He wondered if she had been injured by a patrol from Bluebell, trying to steal her from her journey through the mountains. If she didn't wake up… the countdown for the amount of days that had passed without a death in the conflict had to be reset again.

He shook his head. This is exactly the sort of thinking that made everybody tell him he was too mature for his age.

...

Lillian blinked away a tear from slumber and stirred- her muscles feeling for all the world like taut bowstrings, ready to explode with action. She took a deep breath and ventured to sit up a bit, her head aching dully as the sunlight streamed onto her bed. From where she reclined she could see the dark tousled head of a young male nurse, who was manning the front desk.

That was a guy, wasn't it? He was probably just very young, or had short parents? Hard to tell. She groaned a bit, stretching her arms above her head carefully.

At the sound from the ward behind him, the young man turned his head and abruptly got up from the chair. "Dr. Ayame!" He called someone she couldn't see.

Lillian raised her eyebrows at his reaction. _He'll make a great Doctor one day, if he pays this much attention to people_… she thought suddenly.

Then a second thought hit her. How did she know he was a nurse, that this was a clinic? Had she been here long?

She bolted upright in bed and the young nurse was at her side to support her, but she waved away his concern. "Be careful." He said quickly. "You've been asleep for nearly a week."

Her amethyst eyes went wide. "A week…" She repeated, testing the word in her mouth. _What about_… "Phillip?"

He blinked in confusion. "Phillip? Pardon me Miss, but is that a…person, by any chance?" He shook his head slightly as a woman in a billowing white coat and wearing a stethoscope rounded the corner to join them.

"Kana found you off the mountain path when he was out patrolling. You were the only person there." She said, eyebrows raised. "Were you with someone?"

Lillian's face fell visibly and she stared at the two, not understanding. "He's…" Hiro searched her eyes-

"My brother."

Hiro looked away, in thought (or was it to avoid having to face her?). "He's probably in Bluebell, an entire mountain away. I doubt they'll ever release him." He said quietly.

He stood up from her side and she shot an arm out, pulling him back down to her. He winced. "What do you mean, what makes you say something like that!?" She demanded, her voice pleading.

Ayame stepped in then. "Hiro, give us a moment alone, please. I can't have you scaring the poor kid."

Hiro nodded and walked back to the counter, pretending to organize some paperwork, but it was like he didn't know what to do with his hands. He tried not to listen to their conversation, not wanting to be impolite. He gripped his arm where she had, remembering the force of her feelings.

Ayame pulled up a stool and sat down next to the young girl, whose face was now stricken with worry.. "Let's start over, kiddo. I'm Doctor Ayame. You are at the Konohana clinic; it's the sixth day of Spring. Now," she smiled delicately, "Who are you?"

"Lillian." The girl said, not knowing where to go from here.

…

Later on Rahi was lost in reverie, as Ying chatted with him outside the teahouse. Something out of the ordinary caught his eye and he turned to look. It was the new girl- finally leaving the clinic. Hiro apparently was going to act as a guide and he took her arm in his, pointing at different sites around the village. They started to walk together, but the girl looked exhausted. She should be up and moving, in that state?

Rahi frowned that Hiro was acting so friendly. They still didn't know what the young traveler had come here for. Wasn't it too early to treat her as part of the village?

It had been about a week since she arrived and although people were curious, it just wasn't in Konohana's nature to ask a lot of questions. Just because everyone maintained polite composure around here didn't mean they should throw caution to the wind and let just anybody in. Knowing his mom though, she'd want the girl to stay and help them. He sighed.

Ying hugged her plush panda bear tightly to her chest and her quiet voice broke his concentration. "Rahi… is that…"

"Yeah." He said. "I think her name is Lillian."

"She's… pretty." The girl smiled timidly, as if afraid to voice her opinions out loud.

He looked at her, wondering if she knew how pretty _she_ was, and didn't say anything. He turned back to Hiro and the newcomer.

After a moment of watching them silently, he finally got up and dusted off his pants from where they sat. "Well I'd better go tell my mom. Say hi to grandma Yun for me."

Again the smile. "I will." She promised.

…

The Konohana villagers were pretty nice, Lillian thought. A bit quiet, but nice. Hiro had taken her around for the afternoon and introduced her at the shops and as it turned out there were a lot of people here her age. Even now, her arm was in his and she let him lead her around, feeling more exhausted than should be possible for someone who had just been asleep for days.

She wondered if she would be able to remember anybody's name, with the way her mind was swimming.

Ayame had told her about the other village, about the conflict. She explained that they were still in danger of being raided any time, and just because it hadn't happened in a while didn't mean it wouldn't. She talked about the curfew and patrolling, about how everyone her age shared the responsibility of joining the reserve army, but she didn't know what Mayor Ina would have planned for someone who wasn't born here.

Lillian had listened, but didn't understand. These people were so nice, but the way even soft-spoken Hiro had talked, the edge that creeped up in the Doctor's voice when she discussed the rival village… she didn't see how it could be so bad as they had made it out to be.

Things like, "If you meet someone from Bluebell, don't get close to them- get away quickly or come find help."

"If we win the cooking festival the mountain is ours, which means we'll need more people on patrol to protect us while we forage."

And the confusing "Never travel the mountain alone, you don't know where they'll be, some of them can even control the animals."

Saying things like this just served to make her more and more confused. Did she hear it correctly that they went to the cooking contest as a way to alleviate tension so that bloodshed was limited?

_If they want to eliminate bloodshed, why do they need an army?_

She shook her head to clear it. Across the main path was a girl her age in a pink kimono, watering her field. The girl looked up and Hiro waved to her. She smiled and bowed lightly back to him.

"How are you feeling?" Inquired Hiro, still supporting her arm in a gentlemanly way after showing her how the request board worked. One would think from his demeanor that he could never fight anyone.

"Do you- are you part of the army?" She asked him quietly.

He straightened his back and his brown eyes became serious. "I certainly am. They need a medic like me on patrol." He shrugged and smiled after saying it though, and the effect of his seriousness was nearly lost. She couldn't stifle her giggle.

His smile spread to his whole face. "Is that amusing to you? I'll have you know that I am not be underestimated!" and he posed with a clenched fist. She let go of his arm to cover her laugh this time.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just- The thought of- you seem way too nice for that." She said apologetically.

His face became serious again, this time with more meaning. "Well, I am a man after all. If I don't protect my village and the people that I love, who is going to?" His eyes found hers and held them for a brief moment, sending the point home. Her heartbeat quickened before he looked away again.

And just like that she started to understand. Had this boy- even a guy as kind as this- also lost someone dear?

What about Phillip, was she supposed to count him as lost? Ayame had acted as if she were talking to a new recruit, and Lillian wasn't about to go and start fighting people she'd never met, for more people she'd barely met!

"You have a hidden strength, don't you?" She asked Hiro honestly, and he turned his head away, a hint of color on his cheeks.

"Everyone can learn to be strong. It isn't some sort of talent or anything." It took Lillian a second to realize that he had brushed away her compliment. She wondered if she had made him uncomfortable.

Before she could ask him a woman in red approached, and Hiro waved to her too.

The woman didn't wave back, just stopped in front of them and put her hands on her hips, regarding the young couple.

Hiro held out his hand, palm up to the woman and turned to Lillian. He smiled again. "This is our Mayor, Ina."

Ina nodded and said plainly, "Rahi came along and told me you were awake and walking around town. Lillian, is it?"

Lillian nodded, not sure how to take her abruptness. Suddenly the woman threw her head back to laugh as if she thought of something extremely funny. "Well, let's get you to your new farm!" She exclaimed.

_Wait… farm?_

"You must be mistaken, I came here to-"She began, but Ina grabbed her hand and tore her away from Hiro's side, yelling over her shoulder. Thank you, Hiro! Have a good afternoon!"

"Stay healthy." He greeted back, his quiet voice nearly lost in the distance. It sounded like there had been more he wanted to say.


	6. Chapter 6: Kana's First Day of Spring

Hayate pawed the ground with her hoof and neighed, tossing her head as if yelling at him. "Well what was I supposed to do about it?" The tall young man asked his prize horse seriously. "She wasn't even awake; I wasn't going to leave her there for the wild animals. And I couldn't leave her to the milk-hounds; they were all over the mountain after that!" Kana gritted his teeth and remembered that night a week ago.

Again, the hoof hit the ground with a snort. Hayate had had a hard time carrying two people back after they'd found her, so Kana ended up walking in front, and the horse had treated him differently even since that day. She was mad because nobody was allowed to ride her but him. But this had been an emergency; he wished he could make her understand.

It was dusk and blistery the first day of Spring, and he couldn't wait to get into the saddle to feel the power beneath him, the wind on his face.

He had been charged with patrol. Even though Konohana had lost control of the mountain top, they weren't about to let anyone from Bluebell closer to their side than absolutely necessary. He had been leading Hayate through the low and mid mountain areas, not wanting to venture too close to the summit and overstep their fragile treaty.

Still, it had bothered him, what if they did come closer than usual? One of their natives had been injured in a scuffle the previous week (well, injured by Kana's own spear, actually) and even though he had acted to defend the danger to his horse he felt that more retribution was likely.

Again, the hoof stomped. Hayate was also mad that he wasn't taking her riding as often lately, but he was concerned for her safety, too. He waited for her to calm down before beginning the older mare's morning grooming routine, thinking again about the girl they had found near the waterfall.

Kana's mind had been on the task at hand, but he would've had to be blind to miss it.

A girl's shoe, sitting freshly muddy in the middle of the path.

Stopping to look around, he wondering how a thing like that had just appeared- it definitely wasn't there yesterday- and saw another odd thing on an old tree down the embankment to his side.

Something was draped on it, dark and rippling slightly in the heavy wind, but it was hard to tell what exactly. It was like a blanket or a tarp of some sort? His eyes followed the trail from the shoe to the tree, the broken branches below the blanket that were peppering the ground, and finally to the small figure curled up at the river's edge.

He leapt off Hayate and jumped down the ridge, ending a long drop with a slide where the embankment sloped- he had known this ravine his entire life- and was at her side.

A young girl lay in a fetal position, bleeding from a dozen small gashes and wounds on her arms, her head, across her chest and stomach, everywhere. Her top and jeans were torn, her hair in complete disarray, but she was alive. Her small chest rose once and filled him with relief. He did not want to see another body on this mountain again.

He leaned over and put his ear to her mouth, listening to her take in a shallow breath. She exhaled slowly and groaned and when his fingertips touched her shoulder, she made a face.

"Hey. Hey, girl?" He said softly, hand still resting lightly on her shoulder. "Did you fall from the path above? Can you answer me?"

No answer. He scratched his head, unsure of what to do next. "I can't just pick you up if you have a broken bone or something, yeah? How did you end up all the way down here?"

Was he talking to himself, or to her? Well, hearing a voice might bring her back to reality sooner, he decided. Besides, as a rancher he spent most of his days having one-on-one conversations with himself and his animals. He knew the effect just a calm voice could have on a creature.

How long had she laid here? His chestnut eyes searched the sky above as dark clouds began rolling overheard- it was hard to tell if it was going to rain soon or if it was dusk, playing tricks on his instincts. No way was going to finish his patrol on time now.

He turned back to her again. "I'm going to try and find out how bad this is- so I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, okay?"

And he reached out, examining her wounds as best he could, gently gripping muscles or moving her arms and legs to see that nothing was broken. A couple of times she jerked when he touched her, and he'd immediately snap his hand back, heart beating, thinking he'd hurt her more.

Eventually he realized that the tree in some way had broken her fall, and although lumps were already forming in places that would carry large bruises, the biggest issue was the gash on her head. He knew she was concussed at least and if not already in some state of shock or going into a coma, time was of the essence and he was going to have to take her back to the clinic.

He looked around for options to get her there safely, and only had to really look up. The woven blanket still rippled in futility as if it were a sail on a half-sunken boat, being urged ahead by the trade winds and yet getting itself nowhere.

He climbed the tree in a few movements, his powerful arms launching himself into it without too much effort, and once there he worked to remove the blanket that was tangled in newly green-studded branches. It didn't take too long, but every moment felt like five. He knew the clock was ticking to get her the care she needed. But if something _was_ broken, and he just carelessly draped her over his lap and went riding off, he knew he would just make things worse for her.

Once he'd retrieved it, and landed with a small wet _thud_ on the ground below, then came over to where she lay on her side, once again noticing the gait of her breathing cycle. Very shallow. He carefully wrapped her in the material and lifted her off the ground, cradling her head in the crook of his neck. Her hair tickled his shoulder (he was actually a bit ticklish), but he ignored it and trekked back to the edge of the steep slope, where a change in tactics was needed.

He set her down again on the slope and prepared to switch the way he carried her, searching her face for changes and brushing her pale brown hair out of her eyes. She mumbled something when he set her down and though he listened, he was unable to make it out. Her lashes fluttered delicately and he realized he was just staring at her now.

He was grateful for a moment that no one was around to catch him staring and was not about admit he got distracted. It's not that she wasn't pretty…

_I don't have time for this._He thought. _Focus, man!_

As he rearranged the blanket that covered her and hoisted her slowly over his back for a more effective rescue carry, he shrugged her head up over his shoulder on the other side, making a face where her hair again brushed his neck. This time the movement made her mutter more loudly, and as her lips parted she spoke a single name.

"…Phillip?" She managed to groan and whisper at the same time.

Phillip? Who was that?

"No- My name is Kana." He said as if she could hear him clearly. "I'm taking you back to the clinic in our village." He told her. "I promise you'll get there safely, so you take care of the resting part, yeah?"

And she sighed and relaxed against him as he walked. Had she heard him after all…?

He kept talking in an easy cadence the rest of the way, when he put her on Hayate and as they approached Gombe's perimeter and after that once they were in the town proper. He never knew if she had heard him, but he explained as much as he could without it being complicated- that she would be in the good Doctor Ayame's and Nurse Hiro's care for a while.

Kana went on to say that he would come daily to check on her, so she wouldn't be alone, and that he hoped for her sake she woke up soon. What else was there to say? Hayate occasionally snorted when he talked to her, as if the mare knew somehow that the girl was getting special treatment, but she would be over it soon, right?

As he left the bleeding girl with Hiro at the clinic (He'd had to wake everyone there), he circled back to his mare and wasted no time, heading back to the mountain to search for more clues. He knew her accident likely happened near the border between the towns, and there was a good chance that Bluebellers were all over the mountain already. He thought about swinging by Mako's place to get help on the rest of his patrol, but the man didn't have a horse that could match Hayate's speed, as old as she was, so he thought better of it.

Now as he brushed the dark- haired mare he'd grow up along side of, his thoughts turned to worry for the new girl for some reason. Probably she was only on his mind because he had been visiting her every morning after putting the horses out to pasture, and he hadn't had a chance to visit yet today. Her wounds had closed and were mostly a light pink, the bumps were receding, but whether she woke again up was a different matter entirely, and she had to have the will to live.

A part of him was afraid to keep visiting- he was getting a bit more attached than he'd like to admit and what if she wasn't long for the earth? It had looked like she had been dancing on the edge of not waking up for the last two days as it was. He'd seen it with animals all the time, ones that were newborn runts, or ones that were injured and he'd attempted to nurse back to health. Animals that should have been able to recover their strength gave up all the time.

_But, if it was my last day on Earth_, he thought again, _I'd want somebody to be at my bedside_, _bidding me farewell_.

So it was decided, he'd go and visit once more as soon as he was done with Hayate. It was an off day for his shop, anyways.


	7. Chapter 7: Just Looking

Lillian didn't realize the young nurses' presence had been so comforting until she was walking alone with the Mayor, who had a forceful personality, to say the least. Did she not realize how tightly she was gripping the young girl's arm?

Ina was talking excitedly, explaining what the village was like and how they had an extra farm right by the border that she would be given as thanks for her service- service of what- the girl had no idea. But because the woman was incorrigible (and more than a little bit crazy), she smiled and nodded to whatever the woman said, thinking she would be distracted by something and leave her alone soon enough. That's how it always worked when Phillip got excited.

The Mayor explained that Lillian's clothes had been all but destroyed in her accident and what she was wearing now was a traditional costume for their village, almost like a uniform.

While Lillian wasn't sure that she liked the comparison, she was grateful that they had provided something for her, and hoped it was the Doctor who had changed her clothing, and not the male nurse. An uncomfortable feeling settled into the pit of her stomach and she wondered a bit more- what kind of care had they given her, while she was asleep? She didn't smell, so it occurred to her with a start that she had likely been bathed by somebody.

_Calm down… nothing happened to you while you were sleeping, idiot!_

It was probably fine… the young man she'd met was super polite, so she thought she could trust him enough not to have done anything like that, but she knew for sure if Phillip were around he would've seen to her protection while she was deep asleep.

Speaking of asleep, what had happened to him in the last several days? Judging from how many injuries she had sustained by being thrown, she couldn't say that nothing bad had happened to her brother, and she felt weak just from walking these ruddy dirt pathways in the town right now!

How was she supposed to find him? Worse yet, if he was in Bluebell, how was she going to traverse a mountain and get to him? It sounded like Konohana kept strict watch on the mountain, so how easy would it be to get past everyone that stood in her way…?

What Hiro had first said to her and the fact that Phillip wasn't here, made it sound sort of likely that he was being held against his will.

Very likely, actually. If he'd kept his mount after the accident and didn't end up here, he would've been led towards Bluebell by the path itself _or_ the fleeing animal, so if that village was as bad as everybody said, and they wouldn't let him go either…

Wait.

Either?

A dull light bulb somewhere in the back of her mind flashed back to life inside her and she realized… she probably was expected to stay here, in _this_ village.

_They were trying to give her a farm!_

Ina's voice buzzed in the background of her thoughts like a summer cicada, being paid no mind. It seemed like the woman wanted to be seen talking to people as much as she wanted to be listened to, so Lillian let herself be paraded around the village for a bit, not admitting how exhausted she was, or how her mind raced, watching the woman's eyes try to focus on everything at once.

_Worse yet, I think Ina's talking about her army now, like Ayame said she would_… the girl finally noticed, a chill going through her spine.

Ina saw her shiver a little and stopped, finally remembering to make eye contact. She saw that the girl's eyes were glazing over, that she was overwhelmed, and stopped to pat her on the back.

"Well don't worry about that too much," She said, finishing whatever the heck she had been talking about. "Just expect to go see Mako in a few days when you're feeling better. For now I can show you to your new home. Ah- there's Kana!" And the woman was distracted as Lillian thought she might be.

My new home… she thought listlessly. _They can't be serious…_

…

Kana had just finished leading Hayate out to pasture when he saw (or rather heard) Ina walking by, talking excitedly.

_She must be talking about something new in the village if she's that animated. It's kind of early in the day for her to take the normal walk through town._

He looked over just in time to see her approach, and saw that she wasn't alone.

And once again, he found himself staring into a beautiful face.

"Kana!" Mayor Ina said in greeting as she and the girl stopped by the low wooden fence that surrounded his pasture.

"Morning, Mayor- nobody manning the front desk right now, huh?"

She waved her hand absentmindedly. "Nobody's going to check out any books today. But forget about that for a second. Here, look who's awake!"

She led Lillian ahead of her and let go of the girl's arm, smiling like she had caught a dozen special shishamo on one line. The mayor put her hands back on her hips and waited for his reaction.

One look at Lillian's face was all it took to feel a bit of sympathy for her… she looked exhausted, Kana thought.

He put a hand out to her and she took it over the fence and after a moment's hesitation, avoiding his gaze. "Do you feel alright?" He felt the need to ask.

The girl's eyes rose up from the ground, over his body and finally settled on his. The look she gave him was hard to categorize. It wasn't that she was shy, more like, not up for a fight right now?

"Kana…" She said, and he inclined his head.

"Yeah?" Kana was suddenly conscious that he was still holding her hand.

"You found me, right? Nurse Hiro… he said you did."

He nodded. "Yeah, you were pretty beat up. I'm glad to see you awake and walking around. You sure you're up for it?"

She shrugged, not feeling like talking too much. _Was there anybody that would enjoy a tour like this?_ She wondered if she mouthed 'help me' to him, would he get the hint and chase off the Mayor, who had been running her around for an hour already?

"Ina- I can take her home from here, yeah?" He suddenly offered to the woman in red.

Lillian blinked.

"Oh, really?" Ina's eyes lit up, like she was expecting him to make the offer all along. "You sure you can leave your horses right now?"

Was that sarcasm? Probably. But he just smiled. "They'll be fine out here- they love it- I just planted new grass for 'em, so they'll be happy. You should head back though- what if Reina has to do more research?"

"True." Ina smiled and for the first time since Lillian met her it looked genuine. "You're right. Door should be open if you want to show her around. I'll come by and give you the keys later."

"That would be great."

And like that, the Mayor was walking away, her gait that of a woman who owned the world.

Lillian let out a breath she didn't realize she's been holding and smiled gratefully at the tall guy on the other side of the fence.

He reached up to move a flyaway strand of his brown hair and tucked it messily behind his ear. "You ready to go, looks like you could use another nap, yeah?"

It wasn't more than a ten minute walk down the path from Kana's Animals, and it was larger than anything Lillian had ever seen in her life. She knew that once she felt better (If ever again) she'd love a place like this, spacious and open. But something made her stop when they reached the front door, not willing to walk in and claim it.

There had to be a cost.

Nothing in life is free, as the saying went, especially not several acre farms with open pastures and perfectly upkept little outbuildings. Eventually her tiredness won over and she walked in, Kana following behind her to show her… what? It was a single room.

She went wordlessly to the bed and immediately laid down (more like fell face-down in it), and when he laughed and said he was going to make a cup of tea for her to feel welcome, she muttered into the surprisingly comfortable pillow 'good night' instead.

The day had been long, the people had been different, the village… confusing. Maybe everything would make more sense in the morning.

Just as she could feel herself being pulled into the lulling depths of sleep when a hand laid lightly on her shoulder caused her eyes to fly open again.

Kana was just… looking at her.

She stared back, having no energy to do anything else.

"I'm glad you finally opened your eyes, Lillian." He admitted; his agreeable voice hesitant.

Her eyes opened a bit more at this and he could see the unusual color that they were. And he was truly glad that one more creature had decided to continue waking up.


	8. Chapter 8: Daydream and Nightmare

The next morning (if it could be called morning being still dark outside). The cost of the farm she'd acquiesced to managed to became significantly more evident.

She must have slept deeply, because Lillian woke up extremely confused that the daylight was gone, and didn't know if it was the same evening, the next morning, or if she had slipped away from the real world again for a few more days.

Thankfully a small calendar in the corner helped her get her bearings- and randomly told her that a cooking contest was coming up soon- but didn't help her to decide what to do from here.

Being so dark out she didn't think it would be safe to go traipsing around the mountain looking for her brother, and even though it was the first thing she wanted to do- it would have to wait for a few more hours at least. She hoped when the time came she'd have the energy to make it all the way over, but she'd have to take her chances by traveling on foot as their pony was nowhere to be seen.

Her chest hurt to think of what was happening to Phillip in a place where she couldn't protect him, and despite all the friendly offerings of the earlier day she felt truly alone in the matter. Her breath became shallow when she realized the weight of her task; nobody over here seemed willing to go halfway up the mountain, let alone entirely over, and especially not for a complete stranger.

They had never been separated for more than a few days- Lillian and her brother had traveled together ever since their parents had passed away six or seven years ago- so they both relied on each other's company quite a bit, and had been forced to grow up quickly amidst the harsh realities of an adult world.

As they were only nine when it happened and they had been on a trip as a family, there was not really any local authority that would take care of them, and the two twins ended up in a homeless shelter for the first several months. After uncountable days of eating stews with no discernible ingredients and mixing powdered milk into tap water at a local food bank they realized that the future as they were headed for was probably begging-like everyone else that lived in the shelters.

Not that they didn't try it- and begging brought them a few coins to occasionally purchase real milk- but it was never enough to fill their stomachs and they had to compete for the most profitable places with a grisly group of the hopeless, the angry and the addicted.

They got into a good amount of fights back then, often at the loosing end, but learned a more valuable lesson than hundreds of peaceful days spent under the wings of their parents- You can never rely on anyone other than yourself. If you want to succeed (or even eat) in life, you had better roll up your sleeves, work your ass off, and fight like it was death to fail.

After a few years together of traveling from town to town and doing odd jobs to earn money, the two finally scored work at an Inn, where room and board were included. For the first time since their parent's accident, the two had enough food to eat, and were able to save.

That's when their current dream was born.

A pull in the muscles of her neck brought Lillian back to reality and she once again stretched, this time trying to quiet her thoughts.

_That's not the life you're going to live anymore_, she told herself firmly. _You and Phillip, you are going to be free_.

A mocking laugh in the back of her mind emerged and asked her one single word: _How?_

She sighed and got out of bed to grab some water, opening a mostly empty cabinet to discover one tall glass with a bamboo pattern etched on the rim- it figured- and two small tea cups made of a rough brown ceramic and a few mismatched plates. It was just like being at the shelter all over again.

_Although this time I'm not going to starve half to death…_

Thankfully there was a kitchen sink and she didn't have to go outside to draw from a well or pump water up by hand from a copper spigot out back like all the pictures of country living she'd seen in library books.

After slaking her thirst and realizing that she finally had a bit of energy, she decided to fully explore the house, which took her less than three minutes as everything was bare and there was no more than one room and a rug to look at.

There was nothing left to do afterwards other than check out the barn and look around the farm, maybe something would turn up that she could use when she went to the mountain later in the morning.

But as she set her hand on the handle and turned the doorknob- nothing happened.

She tried again, this time with a frown and a tug on the door- and once more, nothing.

Where was the lock…?

It was obviously locked- should she be thankful she slept safely or wonder who else had a key?

And for the umpteenth time a thought occurred to her that should've been obvious all along.

Mayor Ina had told her and Kana when they parted ways she'd 'Come by and give the keys to you later.'

Though Lillian was falling half asleep walking when the woman in the red habit had said that, now a puzzle piece fell into place from the jumble that was yesterday and the girl realized that Ina might not have been talking to her.

A chill danced up her spine when she realized that she might not have the key to her own home.

Suddenly she was wide awake, searching every inch of the place; it had to be somewhere, no one would be so cruel to just kidnap someone like this.

Wait- if she knew they were trying to give her a farm, was it really kidnapping?

_Who cares- find the damn thing!_

Frantically she looked in all the empty drawers, opened every cabinet, and checked the storage bin. There was even a key rack over by the door that was empty- and her heart sank.

What was she supposed to do now?

Well, going down without a fight was not an option. They'd have to open the door eventually, and when they did, Lillian would be ready.


	9. Chapter 9: Frustrated Patience

Phillip rose with the dawn (this was becoming a habit by now) and made himself a single, fried egg. It wasn't much, but he'd certainly had less to eat in his life.

After breakfast the auburn-haired youth snapped on the radio to hear the weather report- a full day of rain- and shrugged on his khaki jacket before heading to the door. He wondered absently as he kicked his shoes on who he would come face to face with today.

He had a good guess about it based on the past week and today was no different.

Cam tipped his hat in greeting from where he leaned easily up against the side of the cow barn as Phillip exited his front door. Phillip ignored him, per usual, and Cam let it go, being a quiet guy who generally said nothing anyways.

There was an awkward truce between to the two after everything that happened- and Phillip could not forgive nor thank Cam for his actions in the past few days. Phillip had fought to the last of his strength that first day to earn the right merely to be left alone on the mountain, and had been overpowered by Howard, by Georgia (once she'd regained control of her mare), and finally by Cam as well. Granted at the time Phillip had been bleary-eyed and exhausted, but the panic of not knowing what was happening to his sister had given him a renewed strength, and he certainly didn't leave the other combatants unscathed.

Why someone who had aided his search so earnestly in the beginning would turn on him later to impede it's success, the newcomer had no idea. Howard, sure. The barn-shaped blond man had almost nothing honest about him, but Cam… despite everything had been genuinely working to help out. By now Phillip had stopped trying to understand that guy and he noted with some satisfaction that there was still a mark on Cam's lip from where Phillip had split it with his fist.

With a sigh of frustration he remembered that today would mark seven… or was it eight days that he had been unable to get away from Bluebell?

It was almost as if someone were playing a game on him, talking about armies, and preparedness, and then sticking him on this ranch 'for the good of the village' so he could help feed the troops.

_What troops..?_ All this place had in it were a few pissed off ranchers, at each other's throats for a grudge that those responsible for, had already died because of! The generation of people who began the whole fiasco here had passed away decades back, and still the feud went on- over something petty like food preferences, he had been told?

After nearly three days of being locked up in the basement of the café, Phillip had agreed to aid Bluebell in their conflict, on the condition that the village sent someone out everyday to search for Lillian. He had actually set the condition that it be Cam, from what he'd seen of the others he was not about to put his only sister's life in their hands.

So until there was an actual need for Phillip to be involved with the militia, army or whatever ranchers with weapons were calling themselves these days, he mostly went with Cam to do minimal foraging and took care of the two animals that the Mayor had Jessica give him on faith.

If this day went like the others, he knew Laney would come by again this afternoon with the leftovers of some new baked good she was trying to perfect. She had a habit of showing up at random intervals with squares of sponge cake and pieces of pie that would probably wind up on the Howard's café menu later in the week. She usually had a decent excuse to visit (as perfect recipes seemed to be the only thing she really cares about), but Phillip knew that she was really on an errand for Howard and checking up on him, so seeing Laney every day was starting to set his teeth on edge.

Her company itself wasn't bad, but by the time she arrived to act as his keeper for an hour or so before going back home marked the beginning of the evening when the Mayor or his Wife would be out walking the village, checking up on everyone.

The young man had to begrudgingly admit it was an effective system- everyone in the town was in constant communication and almost literally scheduled their lives around knowing where each other was.

Which obviously made it difficult for anyone to slip away unnoticed.

Phillip in general valued honesty and wanted to hold up his end of the agreement with Bluebell (although his agreement was compulsory), but his patience became thinner and his thoughts turned more desperate everyday when Cam came back to the little ranch on the outskirts and just shook his head.

His musings came to an end when he realized he was done with farm work for the day (there were a few seeds that Cam had brought over planted out front, but the rain took care of those), and Phillip realized with a start that he had a whole afternoon with nothing to do. He dropped the brush and milker off into the barn and looked around, noting that Cam was still on the property, this time carefully examining the shoots that were planted.

He walked over to where the guy crouched… was he talking… to them? His curiosity got the better of him and decided to stop giving the taller guy the silent treatment.

"What are you doing?"

"Plants need tenderness, just like people do. I'm talking to them, it helps them grow quicker." The villager replied, matter-of-fact.

"I thought watering them twice a day helped them grow quicker." Phillip said sardonically.

Cam caught his tone and turned took at him, offering one of his trademark expressions of polite tolerance. "That helps too. Are you done for now?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Done as I'll be today. Thought I'd go check out the request board."

"I'll go with you."

Phillip raised an eyebrow. "You know, I did agree to stay and help Bluebell out. Hasn't it been a few days since you last opened your flower stand?" He asked.

Cam shrugged under his hat as they passed the shipping bin, his eyes surveying the surrounding flora while they walked several more paces.

_No answer, again…?_ Phillip thought. _Of course not._

"Today's Friday, tomorrow's a festival. I'll have it open again on Sunday." He finally said.

"Oh. The cooking… right. I think Rutger expects me to enter." Phillip looked over to Georgia's ranch as they approached it, habitually. The first few times he walked the village he hadn't known this was her place and her sudden appearance from the barn or walking next to the little white fence had nearly stopped his heart. It was like being alone in a jungle and discovering a tiger had been tracking your every move as you went.

There she was now, under her umbrella, watching the pasture in the rain. She looked peaceful among her horses, and something told him that this was the only place she truly felt safe. He waived nonchalantly to her, pretending he didn't find her obnoxious and repellant. "Hey, Geo!" He forced a note of cheer into his voice.

"Don't call me that!" She shot back, looking away in a huff, her red ringlets covering her face.

Phillip couldn't stop the slow spread of a grin. At least she wasn't completely impervious. His face darkened when he remembered how his hands had been bound and tied to the side of her saddle for the walk back to Bluebell, and he rubbed his writs, suddenly wanting nothing to do with her again. "Request board…" He said as if to remind himself, heading off in that direction.

They passed Ash on the way but didn't stop to say hi (he was busy playing 'airplane' with Cheryl).

…

Cam had to give the new guy some credit.

Phillip had been here a little over a week and was making every effort to get along with the local people, despite what he faced in not being able to see his sister or live as he wished. He also had the guts to negotiate the terms of his cooperation with Howard, and that went a long way for him in terms of earning respect. Howard was not an easy man to negotiate with, and was used to getting whatever he wanted.

The wild look in his gray eyes from those first days had ebbed away slowly, and it looked like now he was channeling his anger into some sort of frustrated patience.

Cam thought back to his own arrival here so many years ago and wondered… would there have been a difference if his family were still alive? Would he have tried to get away?

He didn't know. Probably because he had been so young, he had just been glad to have a home. He knew he didn't belong in Bluebell and that something went wrong for his parents that they ended up coming here, but once they had died and he was taken into the café and Howard and his daughter's lives, he felt he had something to live for again.

Bluebell needed him.

He glanced over and saw the way Phillip's expression changed after greeting Geo, and knew that he wasn't handling the change as well as everyone thought.

Actually, what was the original purpose of Phillip and Lillian's visit to this area in the first place? Wouldn't it be terribly ironic if they were here to because they'd heard about all the vacant properties and were ready to commit to a new life somewhere? He wanted to ask, but conversations with the kid were usually pretty frosty and he wasn't so great at talking, so he resolved not to bother him about it.

Once at the request board he saw that there were limited options; Eileen was asking for a few mint, and Howard needed more lumber to fix the leaky roof.

He looked over again at the storm clouds raging in Phillip's gaze and wondered if he could take him further up the mountain today- would anyone notice if they were gone longer than usual? As the person charged with searching the mountain Cam had seen no more signs of what happened that day, and they did have the summit and Konohana high as their extended boarder for the new day or two. He owed some results to Phillip for having faith in him, didn't he? And if they lost the next contest and more territory, it would become impossible to get close enough to Konohana to find out what really had happened.

What would he do if the kid bolted, could he trust him? He pressed his fingertips into his temple as if putting pressure on his mind would force answers to come to the surface, but it didn't do too much.

"Well, let's at least go get the mint." The kid said to his side. "If I have to go back to that ranch right now I'm going to go crazy."

Cam smiled a bit, deciding. "Yeah, I agree. I'll grab us a snack from the café first. Do you want anything?"

Phillip raised an eyebrow. "What, like more sponge cake? Never mind that, I'll go there with you."

Georgia watched the two from the safety of her pasture, eyes smoldering despite the surrounding rain. There was something about their blooming friendship that she didn't like, and she couldn't pin it down to figure it out.


	10. Chapter 10: Honest Pretense

Laney looked up from the table she was cleaning when the little bell above the door sounded. She smiled, seeing Cam's purple hat peak around the edge of the door as he walked in. "Hullo, Cam!"

Cam nodded to her and kept the door open for someone- and for just a fraction of a second her smile faltered.

"Hi… Phillip. How are you?" She regained herself.

If Phillip noticed her surprise at seeing him come back here willingly it wasn't evident on his face. "The same as I'll be later, when you swing by the farm." He said. "Except Cam and I are off to fetch some mint for Eileen, so I figured I'd say hi now."

Laney just smiled back at him. "Well that's nice- do you want something sweet, too?"

Cam made his way behind the counter and started putting together sandwiches, seeing that Howard was out at the moment.

"Uh… no thanks." Phillip took a seat at one of the perimeter tables, not wanting to have a long conversation. He watched her clean off a few more tables, her white skirt rippling behind her as she trotted energetically around from place to place. The tables looked as if they were cleaned off every hour, on the hour.

He watched her carefully wipe all surfaces of a little vase and set it back down gingerly, as if it were made of ice. Something about her demeanor was off. Sure, she _seemed_ happy enough…

As Cam was putting the cucumbers back in the fridge, Laney appeared at his side, the smile from earlier still plastered eagerly on her face. He resisted the urge to sigh. "You're taking him to the mountain?" She said as if pretending to approve. "How long do you plan on being gone for?"

Then he did sigh. "Just a little while. Did you need anything from there?"

Her big blue eyes leveled on him and she pouted a little bit. "Well, I haven't seen a single magic blue flower yet this spring and they _are_ my favorite…"

She put a finger up to her lips as if she was unsure about how to ask, waiting for him to respond. He knew that if he didn't say anything now, she'd wait all day for him to reply. "I'll keep an eye out for them, okay?" Cam said, looking away as if the conversation was over.

He finished wrapping the sandwiches and turned to go, but she put her hand on his wrist with a light touch, as if she was afraid to be too close to him.

"But- Cam?" He stopped at the sudden change in her voice. She sounded worried. "Yes?" He asked quietly.

"Are… are you allowed to take him foraging by yourself? Is Georgia going too?"

He turned to face her, and studied her expression for a moment. She was the last person he felt like telling the truth to about this. If she knew he planned on taking Phillip all the way back to Konohana high today…

"I think Geo has patrol later, so we might see her." He hedged.

"Grady has patrol, but that's not what I asked. If he becomes… violent again, or if dad finds out…"

"Then don't say anything. You don't need to. Howard wants Phillip to participate in village activities like anyone else who lives here would. Filling a request is a part of that."

The blond girl crossed her arms over her chest and leaned towards him, the pretense of her happy-go-lucky persona lost for the moment. "I don't want you to go alone with him!" She nearly stamped her foot at him. "It's not safe."

"What's not safe?" Smiled Phillip, leaning over the counter all of a sudden.

Laney jumped back, sputtering. "Uhm… the mountain, you boys have to be careful…"

Phillip ran a hand through his short auburn hair self consciously. "Laney, you don't have to pretend that you like everyone all the time. If you don't like me for whatever reason, I'd rather you be honest about it."

She stared at him for a moment in shock.

Then embarrassment took over and she thrust her hands in front of her, palms towards him as if in surrender. "I-I do like everyone here just fine and…"

Phillip put his palms up against hers and she stopped talking the moment they touched, peeking over them shyly in surprise. "Can we start over?" He asked.

Her face went red enough to match her sweater. "I… I don't know what you mean…"

Phillip lowered their hands, and took one of hers into a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you. I'm Phillip… I just moved here to Bluebell. And you are…?"

"…Laney." She said, confusion all over her face. "What's it matter to you, anyways?"

Drat. She'd meant for that sentence to come out sounding nice.

He shrugged. "Isn't it better to be honest than fake a smile every time you have to see me? I'm living here now, after all."

If it didn't seem possible earlier, her face became another shade darker. Before she could remember her manners she yanked her hand out of his. "I just remembered something…. I have to…"

She backed away from the counter and turned to go up the stairs, tripping over the bottom most stair in the process.

Over her shoulder she offered a quick 'Be safe." To Cam, who was hiding his eyes suspiciously under his hat.

…

Once Phillip and Cam were back outside, the tall florist finally started laughing. "You have a way with girls, huh? I've never seen her so red."

Phillip shrugged again. "I can tell it bothers you too, the way she fakes being happy all the time. What's her problem, anyways?"

Cam looked at him for a moment. "I guess once you get to know Howard…"

"I am never getting to know Howard." The boy spat out. "The man is a menace."

A sidelong glance from under that hat again. "Alright." There was no judging in Cam's tone. Almost as if he understood.

They walked together in silence after that.

…

Once upstairs, Laney shut herself in her room and pressed her back up against the door, heat still pooling in her cheeks. She took a deep breath in to calm herself, but then took two more, and ended up breathing too quickly all over again.

She was so, so embarrassed.

How bold of him, to call her out like that… and in front of Cam, no less!

If her father thought for one second she was being less than polite to people she would get it, but she knew that wasn't the real reason her breath now caught in her throat and choked her.

She knew better than to believe her father's temper was the reason for this.

That rat… that stupid boy… he was so… She couldn't form the words in he mind, it was blank with angry shock at his presumption.

'Let's start over, let's be friends'

Sauntering in as if he owned the place, acting as if he had complete control.

Acting as if mere days ago he hadn't been locked up downstairs, and grateful to get a meal, to see her face!

Yes, she had been rude to leave like that, but Phillip- there was something in the way that he looked at her. It was like he could look straight through, stripping away everything about her and knowing what she was really feeling on the inside.

She had worked so hard to befriend him this week, visiting every day (her dad made her do that, but so what, they just wanted him to feel welcome). How had he possibly known that she secretly loathed him?

She couldn't help it, anyways. After the way Cam had looked when they brought that guy back to the café- his split lip, bloodied face and telltale limp- how could she forgive him for that?

Cam was special. He was the one genuine person in this entire town and-

It was unnerving, that was all.

Dangerous.

Covering her face, she doubted she'd ever be able to really be a friend of someone like that... He was violent. He was far too open and perceptive. It wasn't safe… it didn't feel right.

Real friends were for show, anyways. Georgia and her got along fine by gathering over at the café fence several times a week, talking about how nice the weather was. That's all they wanted to do- show the other villagers that they were sociable, nice girls. Eligible bachelorettes with no unhealthy hobbies that were an asset to the village. It was a way to fit in, to show that you had friends while really not having to maintain any friendships. The same greetings, the same answers. Everyday.

That was the bread and butter of Bluebell- its rich historic tradition. Everyone could rely on one another, could be part of something greater than themselves. By sharing a routine with each other they shared the comfort of never having to dive in too deeply. To find out what really went on below the surface of the calm waters was to invite disaster, and she knew it.

Another shaky breath claimed her as she sunk down to the floor.

_Getting everyone to really know each other would just shatter everything_, she thought in between dry sobs.

Phillip was unpredictable. To make matters worse, there was no way he was loyal to Bluebell after the way he was brought here.

From the open window outside she heard a quiet chuckle, and momentarily forgot her angry feelings long enough to sneak over and take a look. She thought it sounded like Cam-

And it was. Was he actually laughing…?

She could never make him do that. She put her hands up on the window sill and felt the breeze come in, lifting her feathery blond hair up to tickle her face.

She felt so out of place.

Jealously she watched as the new guy waltzed away, casually making her best friend open up, casually breaking down the walls that she had spent years trying to scale.

And she hated him.


	11. Chapter 11: Raindrops and War Stories

They had already spent over an hour hiking up the foot of the mountain, and it hadn't escaped Phillip's notice that Cam was taking a very long time to find the right mint.

Rain still pelted the landscape all around them, creating small streams here and there between the openings in the trees, dropping into the lightly swirling rivers that webbed in and out around them. The sound of frogs was the only accompaniment to nature's cascade, and the young farmer found himself cherishing every breath of crisp, enlivened air as they traversed the forest.

It made him hope fervently that Lilly was well, breathing the same amazing air and enjoying the surrounding embrace of the land as he was.

The mountain was gorgeous in spring.

As they went Cam began to share a little bit more, it was almost as if this is where he could be himself, far away from other people. He alternated from pointing out unique places in the trail (although the rivers were his favorite place to be), and unique plants that could be used for survival.

Cam's light-hearted expression explained why he knew the woods so well, why even pathways that weren't friendly to Phillip's feet opened for him.

It was as if he loved the mountain, and it loved him back.

They came to the head of a long winding river and stopped for a bit, Phillip reaching to pluck another perfect-looking mint from a hollowed out-log where it was nestled into the shade.

"What about this one?" He asked, carrying it over for inspection.

Cam shrugged, barely looking it over. "Seems too young. There are buds on it, but not enough full blooms."

Phillip made a face as this was the fourth rejected mint, and the request could've been fulfilled over half an hour ago. There were almost six full blossoms on that one. Eileen just needed fresh flowers for her door, anyways. She wasn't pressing the petals in her diary!

But something in the other guy's mood kept him from arguing, and being on the mountain in the rain was far better than sitting alone in the barn, staring at a fat cow and listening to a cackling hen.

Cam got up and started to move again, not waiting for Phillip to catch up. The pace increased noticeably, maybe the florist had realized that time was ticking?

Yet he didn't seem to want to head back any time soon, and that was fine. Before long the two had gone further in than any of the other trips they'd taken in the last couple of days. With every step the mountain seemed to grow more beautiful, and there was nothing in it compared to the uncertainty and darkness of that first night.

_Maybe it's not so bad here…_

Along the way Cam managed to reject three more mint, and Phillip started to piece things together.

He recalled the guilty look on the young man's face the last time he'd come back from searching for Lillian, how Cam had hovered for a few seconds more after shaking his head in the usual 'no, I haven't found anything.', as if he had something in mind to say.

He recalled the way Laney had reacted when Cam packed a lunch and the way she'd said 'it wasn't safe'.

Caught in the midst of his thoughts, he didn't notice he had stopped walking and after a few steps Cam stopped too, looking over. The land was leveling off a bit and was less vertical; they might have been getting close to the summit. He decided to ask the obvious.

"How far are we going?"

Cam's green eyes opened up a bit as if feigning surprise.

"I know you aren't supposed to let me get this far from the town, so what's going on?" He challenged, his voice even.

Cam grabbed the end of his hat and looked away, a gesture that was becoming a communication of its own. "Well…"

Phillip decided to sit down on a nearby outcropping of rock, ironically finding a mint right next to it. He laughed a little, plucking it, and couldn't resist offering it to the florist. "Unless…. _This_ mint is the holy grail of mints that you had in mind?"

Cam rolled his emerald eyes skyward.

"We have picked enough mint here to make herb salad for a week's worth of lunches, so can you please drop the pretense of this trip? If you need help with something, you can just ask." Phillip crossed his arms, waiting.

"You're right." Cam said, after twirling one of the stems carefully in his fingertips. "No- you were right from the beginning. We never should've taken you off the mountain and into town."

He finally leveled his gaze at Phillip, although it looked like it took an effort for him to do.

Phillip kept his arms crossed, waiting for the rest that remained locked behind the other's eyes.

"And- I have been looking for your sister." Cam continued. "But she's not on this mountain. If she were here, I would have found out about it." Another pause. "Which means…"

"Which means she's in the other village." Phillip said finally, nodding in understanding. He relaxed his pose and sunk down a bit on the rocks, flicking his hand through his rain-slicked hair a few times. "So, back to the original question?"

Cam's eyebrows went up.

"How far are we going? I'm sure you know me well enough by now that you know if I end up anywhere near that place I'm going in to get her."

Cam frowned. "Right. You should probably… be prepared though. I'm not going to be able to get you very close. You know how the festivals allow us territory?"

"I think I heard something like that. So right now, we can get farther without having to risk backlash?"

Cam nodded, dropping the new mint into his bag. "The risk to overstepping their lines is very real- it will endanger the entire village, and I won't be involved in risking our people's lives."

Phillip sat there for a moment, trying to take in what had just been said, then he shrugged and shook his head. "Well excuse me- I've heard that too, but what are you all _talking_ about? Wasn't this feud something that started so long ago nobody knows how it happened? Is that worth risking your life for?"

The other said nothing.

"Then- Is it worth _trafficking_ people for?!" He was getting angry now and didn't care. Before he could keep talking he got up abruptly and stood, just clenching and unclenching his fists as his sides. It was as if the fight or flight response had gotten caught in his veins, adrenaline coursing but having nowhere to go. He felt like… something needed to be destroyed.

Cam offered a sidelong glance and let a few more moments pass, until the other's breathing began to come back under control. "Laney's mother died in a raid." He said, as if remembering.

Phillip went still as a statue.

"Konohana back then, their mayor was an old military man. Ina is the current mayor, it was her father, I think. He would send raiding parties every month, like clockwork."

Phillip sat back down again, gray eyes narrow. Once again he waited.

The plaid hat covering his eyes, Cam folded his hands and rested them on his knees, pensively. "And we would ruin their festivals, pull up their crops. They lived on only fish for a few years. We filled in their sluice canals and poisoned their rice paddies- it takes nearly three seasons for rice to grow. Well, we took care of that!" A bitter laugh.

'I was young when I arrived in Bluebell. I remember the first time we were raided, but not why it happened. They swarmed the mountain- took people hostage. Our moms were foraging together at the time and were taken to the summit. Only my mother made it back. Hers was executed, a sacrifice to the Harvest Goddess."

He shook his head, and Phillip stayed still, solemnly watching the rain in the misty woodlands that surrounded them. He folded his arms across his chest again- in thought.

He realized that Cam's parents were not in Bluebell now and wanted to ask, but wondered if he ever would gather the courage. The things Cam was telling him now, he got the feeling he told no one. Most of the people he could talk to would have lived through it, anyways. Did no one ever discuss what happened? Memorialize it? They all seemed to pretend their world was perfect- a snowglobe of picturesque happiness. Who was going to work to make that happiness real?

Again, only an obvious question came to his mind. "So, how long has it been since someone has died?"

Cam looked up at this. "I think once the mayor of Konohana passed away, there were a few more incidents, but everyone was exhausted. You've seen how the town is now- broken families- Jessica doesn't talk about what happened to her husband. Ash spoils his sister every day, he can't help it- she's the first child who's grown up in our fragile peace. Rose and Rutger- they had five sons. Five!" His expression turned fierce, and he pressed his hat even further on his head, leaving his hand there for a moment. "Can you imagine- losing every child because of this?"

Cam suddenly snatched his hat off of his head and began to roll it in his hands. His hair, the color of wheat, immediately began to get pelted with raindrops. He sighed in refreshment, as if the cold water dancing in spring air brought him back to life.

"So- the way they are now…" Phillip let his voice trail off, picturing the elderly couple together. "Walking the village every day, sneaking gifts to each other…"

A small smile played on Cam's face. "Rutger used to be such a spitfire. He had every guy in the village learn how to fight. Every girl was taught first aid. Georgia, when she moved here wanted to learn everything. That's part of the reason she's so good at it- the drive to prove herself to us, I guess? Anyway, Rutger changed after his eldest died- like he realized we were all going to die in the war. He started… working to preserve our village, our lands."

Phillip couldn't help but hear the notes of compassion and respect in the other guy's voice. It was hard not to fall into the picture he was painting. To be able to see the same people who had humiliated him in a different light, under a different brush, was impossible to express.

He resolved to try and learn more about the people from Bluebell, after this. He let out a long breath and stretched. Before he could ask, Cam loosened his tie a bit (nervous habit, probably), and offered: "I'll take you as far as the line. From there, let's see what their patrol does. If we sneak around they'll think we're up to something and you might never see her again."

As the soft breeze picked up speed and ran madly through the clearing, the young new farmer's face was far away. "Do you think…" He stopped himself, then regained courage. "Do you think she's alright?"

Cam tightened his tie this time. "I think she's alive." He said. "They need new people as badly as we do. Ina's not one to kill someone just because she doesn't know them, from what I hear. So as long as she… survived that night in the mountain…" He looked away.

"Right." Phillip sighed. "Right. Let's keep going then. And Cam?"

No answer, just and incline of the head.

"Thank you."

A light nod replied back.


	12. Chapter 12: Thoughts in Fog

It wasn't long before the two reached the actual summit, and the sight was breathtaking.

Cam was here almost weekly for the contests, and more often when the mountain was theirs, but the view was different with every new visit. With the wind, sun and rain the breaks in the trees and view of the low valleys and dodging rivers changed. The colors evolved, different animals emerged, and the clouds stirred with new authority. Despite the circumstances of the visit, it excited him and lifted his spirit to be here again.

"What do you think?" He looked to the new kid, whose face was alight with wonder, gray eyes searching the tumultuous sky as if he could see everything beyond it. There were distant craters in the raining clouds where streams of light fought for a place in the heavens, creating cascades of brighter colors wherever the rain slowed.

"I can see why everyone's fighting over it." He said.

He walked through the stone courtyard and past the lit pillars, sizzling with orange flame in front of the backdrop of sky and storm clouds. Wordlessly he approached the fence on the opposite side, and gazed over the expanse below.

Cam smiled, then took a small walk himself, checking to see if any new flowers were flourishing with the coming of spring. Immediately he was drawn to a small outcropping of rosebushes, searching among the buds that were starting to push their way though it's twiggy leaves.

He started- talking to it again?

Phillip wasn't sure why he was bothering to pay attention, but that guy sure was weird. Wasting time talking to a wild plant. It was already growing and looked healthy. Yet his captivation was clear, unmistakably enthralled as he reached down to examine each new bud.

It reminded him a little bit- of Lilly. As long as something was alive, it was sacred. She hated bugs, but refused to kill them. She approached every wild animal and attempted to feed it, or would sit for hours watching it in awe. They were never able to care for a pet, but sometimes when they had stopped at a village or town seeking gainful employment, she would end up volunteering her time too at the local shelter.

And plants- well she loved flowers, but especially flowering trees. There had been a small cherry tree by their shelter, broken and battered by the city. But still it bloomed, still he watched her trying to climb all over it (tomboy that she was), and still she daydreamed aloud about how one day she was going to have one of her own.

Just then a tiny sound came from the base of the rosebush and for a split second Phillip thought the flowers were talking back.

Then he saw movement, the swish of an upturned white tail, and realized that a stray cat lived here, on the summit. The cat approached gingerly, then finally ran between Cam's legs and tried to climb on him, he just smiled- shyly?- and pet it, scratching behind the ears.

_Well now he reminds me exactly of Lilly_. The kid thought, eyebrow raised. How did someone like this end up in a town of people like Bluebell?

For some reason he looked away, back over the expanse below. This place was gorgeous.

It was too bad really that they weren't going to stay here very long.

…

Grady let his stallion wander along the riverside, plucking fresh grass and flicking the water from its ears as it went.

He hadn't seen anything to be concerned about on this patrol, but as he sat to eat the turnip salad Georgia had made for him, he kept both eyes open.

He didn't like to be on patrol alone, and it was particularly dangerous to be unhorsed and eating. It was a bit unnerving in the rain, as the usual instinct of sound was muffled, and distances were already fading into a warm fog as the afternoon grew late.

Earlier he had seen both Kana and Mako on the Konohana mid-range, and wasn't about to let them overpower him to go beyond - the incident the other week was a good reminder to watch out for Kana, especially. That boy was dangerous.

Although, not really a boy any longer- he was grown, and even though he had been such a gentle child Grady had to remind himself that people change.

He was caught for a moment in his thoughts, how Georgia and Kana once played together on the mountain, before they moved to Bluebell. They both seemed so innocent then. But once the boy's father had moved away and left him to the influence of the other villagers, he started to distance himself. Not that was difficult to create distance, what with everyone trying to kill each other after that.

Everything had been simpler, once. Running the lodge had been a challenge, although fun and worthwhile, but after his wife had left them, he wanted stability for Georgia. Would would've thought that deciding to move to Bluebell would separate them from the friends they had made in Konohana?

It was too bad, really.

He finished his lunch and got up, wanting to get back in the saddle quickly just in case. He was going to be prepared if somebody decided to come charging through the fog, no matter who it was.

…

Kana patted his horse on the flank as they trotted the forest trails, cringing on occasion as the beast changed course abruptly or without instruction.

He really would rather be riding Hayate right now. Unfortunately his best friend was not agile enough to navigate the woods during a long rainfall- the mud alone posed a threat- and he was not going to risk her delicate ankles on the craggy paths that could melt away unexpectedly with erosion. It really wasn't good riding weather anyways, but he knew that wouldn't stop the Blubellions like Grady or firebrand Georgia from diligently edging their mounts over the scrimmage line.

To make matters worse they could well have him outmatched in the equine region today too, since Hayate was not an option for a day like this and his next best Stallion was out to stud. Not that geldings were weak- far from it. But to an experienced rider like Kana it was a disappointment to have an unreliable animal like this to contend with. If this was just a ride for fun- how long had it been since he had been able to _do_ that?- it wouldn't have mattered and he could take his time in training it.

The young gelding he was on now was more than just a little bit jumpy, and Kana's back hurt as it was, having the morning he did.

True, he should've expected some kind of reaction from the girl after the way Ina and he had locked her in her new home overnight, but it was like six am when he came along to open the door and check up on her- who was that spirited at six am?!

Before he could react she had launched herself at him from the dark doorway and wrestled him half to the ground, covering his head with her blanket to blind him.

Thankfully she still didn't have too much strength from being in a coma for those first few days, but it took him too long to react and gain the upper hand. After a few minutes of wrestling, he won out and finally managed to lock her wrists behind her so she couldn't keep trying to punch him in the kidneys.

Amethyst eyes flashing and aggravated, Lillian resembled nothing of that shy uncertain girl from the day before. He had been shocked by her reaction- his first thought was that she had a nightmare, and woke while reliving it.

Then he found out that she thought her life was in danger. Inwardly, he scoffed at her then- since he felt she was going to stick him with something sharp from the kitchen any second- but then he saw the fear behind her eyes and realized she really did believe it. "If I let you go, are going to keep hitting me?" He had asked.

She hunched her shoulders against his grasp while his arms encircled her and her eyes gave away nothing. It was sort of like trying to befriend a wild boar. A stray thought hit him when he realized he had a turnip in his bag he could offer her- then he had to remind himself to take this seriously.

He loosened his grip on her wrists from where they sat, wedged between her doorpost. She still struggled whenever she thought he was going to give up. "I'm going to let go now," He said carefully, "And you're going to explain what's got you so spooked, okay?"

She eyed him beneath the mess of her tawny bangs and nodded once.

He loosened his grip a little bit more, and she scooted away from him- the feeling of her tiny shoulders moved away from where he had held her concave against his chest.

He let her go all the way then and she pushed herself backwards onto her heals and her arms came back up- once again he found himself stopping her fists with his hands.

"H-hey!" He exclaimed. Did she not just hear him when he said 'talk'?

"How- DARE- you!" She punctuated, struggling to hit him again. "Treating me like some kind of animal! I- am NOT- staying here!"

A few of her shots connected with his chest this time, and Kana ended up capturing her wrists again to spare himself, this time in front of her. "Hey. HEY!" He finally raised his voice back. "Can you stop that!? I'm not here to hurt you, okay? Alright?"

He lowered her arms slightly so he could look her in the eyes. "I left when you went to bed- you were too exhausted to lock me out, so-"

She shot him a dagger of a glance then, and he realized he'd made a mistake.

"There is no lock on the inside of the door." She said, accusation thick in her voice. "You people intend to keep me here, a prisoner."

"That's for our protection!" He snapped suddenly, voice low. He resisted the urge to cuss. M_ight as well level with her. She was bound to figure it out eventually._

And she stopped in surprise, and hung her head so she didn't have to look at him. "You… expect me to believe…" Then her fists balled up again. "What makes you think I would do anything to hurt anyone here?" She demanded.

He sighed and let her go again, sensing a change in her- a begrudging sense of reason. He dimly wondered if he was some kind of masochist. "You've been trying to use me as a punching bag for the last ten minutes." He reminded her.

Her head snapped back up, eyes searching his face. Was he trying to make fun of her…?

But Kana just got up from where he had been sitting, and backed a few steps away to give her space.

It had been raining overhead, and he stood in it, not seeming to care that he would be drenched soon. The roof overhung a bit but was thatched and did nothing to protect him from the roiling sky.

She felt a twinge of sympathy, but didn't know why as the anger was still very much there, living in the pit of her stomach in the same way it had been since she woke back up hours ago. Joining it now were confusion and doubt. Finally she put her head in her hands and mumbled something about making some tea for him.

He just stood there, barely making eye contact, brown eyes blinking away the rain.

_Did he hear me?_ "I-I said I'll make some stupid tea so you can stop standing outside looking like some kind of-" She felt her face heating up. _Idiot_… she finished in her mind.

He had combed his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, okay." And joined her back inside.

Thinking back on it now, she went back to her original timid self after they started to talk, but he knew that there was no way she was going to trust him now. Not that he could blame her, really- but they weren't going to just let anybody live in Konohana!

He didn't want to tell her that they were being cautious to make sure that nobody from Bluebell was able to penetrate their defenses… she had been insulted enough for one morning, he'd thought.

They hadn't been able to talk for too long, just enough for Kana to go over the basic expectations; She would live there, work the land, and once the Mayor was convinced that she wouldn't bolt or try to switch sides to Bluebell she had a chance to get the keys to her new farm, and would be welcomed into the community with open arms. Basically, she was expected to behave as though she belonged, until she did.

Lillian had just sat there at her table with an untouched cup of tea in a small earthen mug and a numb look on her face. After he had stated the terms of her life here, she had ignored him completely, as if he wasn't in the room and hadn't said a word.

He ran his hand through his rain-soaked hair again as he rode the foggy forest paths, thinking about it.

Man, did he feel bad.

But- what other way was there? They knew less about her than she did about them, after all.


	13. Chapter 13: Let's Discuss Fruit

"Hey, Grady!"

A friendly voice from behind him nearly made the old rancher jump in his saddle.

He had been expecting to see figures in the mists, sure, but not walking casually up from behind him.

"Hullo, Cam!" He smiled, relieved. "Are you here to reinforce the line with me?"

Then a frown. "Who's this?"

A young man with auburn hair appeared from the folding fog beside Cam. The boy stopped to wipe some mud from his shoes on a nearby rock and waved without saying anything.

Cam looked over. "This is Phillip- you know, from the accident."

"Oh." Grady looked at the boys face for a moment and studied it. He seemed to have a question in his eyes. He dismounted, to be polite and offered a handshake.

Phillip took it, wondering if he had seen the older man yet. "And you are…?"

Grady laughed light-heartedly. "I'm Grady."

"Grady's animals," The boy said, then suddenly his head snapped up- "The place where Georgia works?"

Grady laughed again. "She's my daughter." He explained.

"Oh." The boy looked like he really had a dozen questions in his mind, but voiced none of them.

"Did you meet her when she was running the shop for me? I've been out here, mostly, during the day." Grady paused to survey through the fog, squinting a bit.

"No."

Grady looked back to him at that, but Cam answered in Phillip's place, who didn't seem in the mood for idle chat. "She was part of the retrieval team." He said.

"Ah. That's right! I'd forgotten she was out that night; I've been out so much myself… Well I hope she conducted herself honorably."

_She's a complete banshee…_ Phillip cleared his throat a little. "Actually she forgot someone."

"Oh?" The older man patted the side of his horse as he talked, not taking his eyes off of the woodls.

Phillip could tell that the weather was making the older man nervous. "Yeah. Hey-how do you know where the line is when there's this much fog? It seems impossible to tell."

Grady stopped scanning the woods for a moment and started to really regard him now. "You're pretty close actually. Come to think of it-" He raised his head up to look at Cam, who was a head and a hat taller than him. "What are you boys doing so far out this way? This isn't a place to play around."

Phillip nodded seriously.

Cam gave a small apologetic smile.

Grady narrowed his eyes imperceptibly. "Cam."

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you've found a friend that's just as quiet as you are, but I'm sure you both realize that facial expressions are not the same things as words." He clasped his hands behind his back and looked both of them over. "What's your business here, boys?"

"We're looking for mint." Said Cam easily.

"And my sister."

"And his sister."

"And you- what? A sister? So there _was_ someone else."

Phillip (for the millionth time today) found himself growing aggravated. "There was someone else," he repeated. "And she's not on your side of the mountain." As if he hadn't wasted his first two days in the café telling everyone that! How did these people treat anyone that wasn't on their side? He wondered.

Grady nodded slowly, digesting this. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Phillip added, "Cam's been looking for her every day for me, and-"

"I've been out here everyday, too." Said Grady, deep in thought. "I know some debris from your wreck ended up in the river and got spread out- it's been difficult to piece together what happened. So you left someone here… no wonder."

"Well thank you for caring I guess, but it's been over a week and now's not the time to stand around talking about it. The sooner I can find Lillian, the sooner-"

"Well son, I'm afraid that might be out of the question."

"No, it isn't," Phillip said through clenched teeth. He took a step that angled his body away from the other two, in case he needed to act. "It's the reason I've been cooperating with your town at all. You are representing everyone right now, and I hope the trust I've put in the people of your village is not misplaced."

Cam stepped in front of him then to get Grady's attention. "Grady- Phillip knows about our town's situation. I- Well, I trust him not to endanger us." His voice was quiet, like the rainfall that encircled them. The taller young man was still calm, keeping his hands in the pockets of his blue trousers as if they were merely discussing the weather.

Grady put a hand to his head and rubbed his forehead, grumbling a bit under his breath. "Cam-" His tone was fatherly, admonishing.

"Grady." The florist said evenly, "Phillip doesn't know how she's doing. We never found her that night, and I've been checking the mountain every day, so nobody from our side knows if she even- well, how she is. The least you can do is let us past you- we're not going over their line, but they have to know what happened from their side. Odds are high they found her, or they know what's going on."

Grady sighed and looked over Phillip one more time. The boy looked like he was going to grow up to become a very serious adult one day. "I've seen your farm- the one Rutger assigned you to, when I come back from the woods in the evenings. You've worked hard on something that you had no choice in. I can respect your work ethic."

Phillip visibly relaxed hearing this. "Thank you," He said carefully. "And so?"

A small smile curved on Grady's face, his thick dark red mustache not moving upward with it. "So, if you can treat this matter with the same care I've already seen in your work, and if you can promise you are going to speak first and act second, than I will even go with you to get you close enough."

Finally, the boy smiled too, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. He nodded.

Cam walked past the two and clapped Grady on the back in appreciation.

"Let's get going, then." And the older man seated himself once more on his stallion's back, leading the two young men further into the misty mountain path.

…

The scrimmage line was somewhere near a deep valley, and the group didn't have far to go. Usually during a normal sunny day, both sides were in eyesight of one another, but today's misty rain conspired with the darkened sky to cast a veil on everything.

They made no effort to be quiet, waiting for an opportunity to announce their less than violent intentions, but tension was high for those from Bluebell, and the new kid was finding it difficult not to follow their silent lead. He wracked his brain in search of easy topics that would keep everyone from being too nervous, but ended up nervous about the topics, and couldn't say anything. Usually talking came easy for him, but he felt like a negotiator who didn't know if he was approaching a wanted anarchist or a mere school-yard bully.

Although with the visibility so low it would be hard not to seem sneaky, Phillip guessed.

He watched Grady curiously as they went, wondering how Georgia got to be so bold, having such a likable father. She probably just didn't take after him.

He was about to ask about the family, but stopped instead when a small stone skipped across the path in front of them.

He looked around to get his bearings, and recognized the slats of long wooden bridge that Lillian and he had passed over on the way here. Over its edge there seemed to be a deep drop, but it was difficult to tell as it faded with distance below.

From the source of the stone came the rapid snort of an animal, and a man with dark hair and a severe expression emerged out of the fog, riding a horse the color of mud. The man was saddled comfortably and blocked the path, squaring his shoulders at them.

Phillip looked the man over, noting the eye patch and occasional scar, and swore under his breath.

Not that he had imagined it would be easy…

"Well I was just thinking about how bored I am, and what do I find? The afternoon's entertainment." The man said with an angular smile, peering down on them from his mount. "Or are you here to discuss fruit?"


	14. Chapter 14: Immediate Misunderstanding

Grady moved to the front of the line and veered his stallion ahead of the two boys, protectively. "We came out to meet you." He addressed the dark rider soberly. "Cam, you know Mako."

Cam's green eyes shone a hard emerald just below the rim of his hat. "Yeah…"

Mako's dark, single eye became a suspicious sliver while he regarded the group in front of him. "Well, obviously you're here to meet us. Otherwise you wouldn't have been so glaringly loud about it. This would be a terrible show of force, if your aim is to get past our line and assault our village." He smiled again, the sharp edges of his face sloping towards them ominously as he leaned forward in his saddle. "Unless I have another group circling the woods behind you all to look forward to? Rutger and his boys couldn't stop me, and you can't either, Grady. You would need the rest of your army."

There was something in the man's smirk- probably the look of confident experience- that threatened to shake Phillip to the core of his being. It was more than self-assuredness; this man had the look of someone who had seen the light fade away from his enemies' eyes and was prepared to see it as many times as necessary to accomplish his ends. He had to wonder from the way he talked, did this man have something to do with the death of the Mayor's sons? It seemed likely.

For the first few minutes, though he willed himself to move, the young auburn-haired farmer found his feet rooted to the ground as if they were tied to tent stakes. His pulse pounded in his ears and drowned out the soft pattering of the rain on the leaves around them.

Grady shook his head in denial, holding eye contact with the other man. "We have no ill intent today." He said a little too loudly, as if to remind everyone.

Mako raised his imposing figure up and took in a deep breath, raven hair swinging in a tight line behind him. Coming down from it he let out a piercing whistle between his teeth that silenced the forest. "Today, you said. That's very telling." He replied, the smile not moving from his thin lips. "Well you have about three minutes to express your feelings, before I run you off of my bridge. I'm sure you know that you're standing over the line and I can't allow that."

The man fingered the smooth wooden hilt of what looked to be a sizable blade off the right side of his saddle. It was hard to see clearly with all the moisture in the air, but the occasional glint of metal was enough.

Nerves jumping loudly against it, Phillip finally forced himself into locomotion, ignoring the hint of Grady's horse blocking their path and going around it slowly to get the man's attention.

Mako looked down at him, frowning at his approach. "So, I tell you you're over the line and you attempt to get even closer?!" He gripped the hilt now, unlatching it from the sheath with a quietly ominous _click_.

"Phillip, get back!" Cam ordered from his position behind them, urgency in his voice.

"It's okay," Phillip said. Although there was a clear note of desperation when he said it. "I'm not from Bluebell." He looked up at Mako, whose mouth was turned down into something of a daring leer while his fingertips flexed over the hilt at his side.

The sound of hooves on the bridge behind Mako gave everyone pause. Mako straightened up again, turning his ear almost casually. "About time," The tall man muttered, dark eye still boring into Phillip while he listened.

A moment later a young adult a few years older than Cam or Phillip came from behind the dark rider and reined his tawny horse in expertly. The two riders now sat side by side, their horses almost locked together at the shoulder. There would be no dodging around them without ending up off of the bridge and falling into the churning mist on either side. Far below, the rush of an icy cold mountain river could be heard and felt, shaking the foundation of the very earth after pounding over a nearby cliff as a waterfall. A biting chill emanated from the expanse below the group, and the clearing of this part of the woods was far colder than where the trio from Bluebell had been hiking moments before.

The new rider had dark brown hair, pulled back into a lazy sort of ponytail and two bands of tattoos circling his large upper biceps in a tribal pattern. He seemed easygoing, for someone with a tattoo, Phillip thought. _Maybe it's just when compared to Mako…?_

Either way, the new guy was just as tall as Mako while they were seated, and it looked like he had something like a foot on Phillip. Cam was tall, but wiry in an almost feline way, and while Phillip remembered him being unnaturally quick, he wasn't strong. Or rather, not strong enough for someone like this.

Then he noticed it- a long, sharp spear anchored to the side of the saddle- just between the guy's calf and the saddle's leather side fender.

He began rethinking his move to the front as he saw them sizing him up the same way he had them. They looked him over with scorning confidence that made the young man realize what it must be to live your life as a field mouse.

Taking a few long and drawn out breaths, he forced calm into his rapidly pumping heart, fighting the fire in his veins with the suppressing power of his decision for peace.

Phillip wasn't prepared to take both of them on, even though he knew Cam could fight. He gauged the rancher to his side from the corner of a cool gray eye and knew somehow that Grady wasn't going to help them if it came to a fight.

He swallowed the vestiges of his fear and stood straight, facing the two men and hoping to be viewed as an equal. Right now they knew nothing about him either, how long were they going to give him to plead his case?

Still, leaving without finding Lilly wasn't an option. If these men held the secrets to the other side of the forest, and into the other village, he would find a way to get past them.

As it was the boys from blue were unarmed, facing a saber and a spear. How had Grady expected to keep men like this at bay?! His thoughts turned to alarm. If this was the Konohana patrol, how big were the rest of the men in their village?

Getting his sister back was looking more and more impossible the more he learned about this place. How long was he going to be expected to live in that little village of ranchers, not knowing her fate?

And just like that, the young man came to one of his typically hasty decisions.

…

Kana frowned, looking the new guy over carefully. There was something familiar about him, but he couldn't quite place it.

He watched the group in front of him, smiling inwardly at Grady's complete unease. He knew the man from countless skirmishes, and knew how to get past him and how to throw him off balance. That was no challenge at all. Usually his daughter was around to protect him, which was terribly ironic but funny to watch. Kana was actually more cautious of Georgia on patrol by herself than the two of them together because he knew he would distract her, dulling her edge with his incompetence.

Grady's presence only guaranteed a Konohana victory for the day. The man was too tired from running his ranch, too chubby from eating cheese, and too cowardly to be guarding anything.

Obviously Mako hadn't called him over here for _Grady_.

He eyed the tall guy in the purple hat. Maybe for Cam?

_Nice hat_…

Aside from his questionable fashion sense, at least Cam had a keen eye and the sense of knowledge when deciding whether to move or to stay put. Typically, Bluebell had a good warrior in him, even though it was obvious that fighting is something he learned because he had to and not because he wanted anything to do with it. Even though he was young, it was like squaring off against an old beast who had seen everything and was wary of everything, safe in his lack of trust.

Maybe for Cam.

But then… who was this? He didn't recall anybody from Bluebell like this, but it was possible that he had just not been allowed into the woods this far before. For a split second, he flicked his gaze between Grady and the new guy, looking for a resemblance. Aside from the twinge of red in the kid's hair, there was nothing that looked like the old rancher in him.

Though the kid might grow up to be stronger, he certainly didn't look like much now. A bit stocky with probably some strength, but short. There was an anxiety in his eyes too, desperation as if he had much to lose.

Kana became even more confused when the kid opened up his mouth and claimed not to be from Bluebell.

_Really_?

Kana barely suppressed his laugh. "You just said you aren't from there?" He asked, breaking away from his musings.

The kid glared, switching his attention to Kana now. "That's what I said. I have nothing to do with either of your villages," Here something changed in his face and a look of determination slowly overtook his young features. "I'm not from this area at all or part of your feud, so I demand passage as a visitor!"

Mako nearly roared with laughter at this and the kid stopped, confused.

"Did you think that was going to work, boy?!" Mako yelled, eyebrow diving back into place over his good eye. "You waltz over here with an escort from _your_ village, Grady leading you over the line himself, and expect to just ASK to keep going onto our territory? Who is strategizing for Bluebell nowadays? Rose?! Is Rutger finally keeling over as we speak? That old buzzard I knew it was only a matter of time before he'd go senile and leave the place overrun by hens…"

Mako carried on with this sort of mirth for a few more minutes, and Kana was amused to find the new kid completely dumbfounded by it, as if he had expected them to take him seriously.

Finally after his companion was recovering from his fit of entertainment, Kana decided to ask a few questions of his own. "Hey, kid."

The kid snapped his head back in Kana's direction, jaw set in anger.

"Calm down. I just have a few questions for you before we kick you off our bridge." Kana said easily. "You said you weren't from this area…?"

The boy nodded. "That's right."

"And how long have you been in the area then?"

"I've been here the better part of a week, that's it."

A week…

"And what was your name?"

"Phillip." He turned the name over in his mind. What was familiar about-

Kana paused, suddenly remembering the name the girl had muttered in her delirium the day he found her. He put a hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow, confidently seated in his saddle.

_What's so special about him?_ He wondered. The boy looked totally normal. Aside from having the guts to approach Mako, there was no spark, nothing unusual.

And almost immediately, he misunderstood.

What did someone like Lillian see in a kid like this?


	15. Chapter 15: Proof of Life

Even though his face was heated red and he was uncontrollably angry, the spark of recognition in the horseman's eyes when Phillip had said his name did not escape the young man's notice.

"You know it. You've heard my name." He accused.

Kana smiled easily at the tone in his voice. "Have I…? I guess it is familiar- Maybe even young kids have a name like that these days. I hear the name Phillip, I picture an old man I used to know from far away in the city, yeah?"

The kid frowned. "I don't believe you."

Kana kept his hand on his hip, scanning the forest behind Cam and Grady as if he wasn't listening. "Then don't believe me. I'm not sure why a name like yours is supposed to matter, anyway."

He glanced back to kid's cool gray eyes to find them lit with the embers of a molten fury.

"It matters to Lillian." He ground out, hands flexing into fists at his sides.

Another spark, more recognition.

Not wanting to play any more word games, Phillip pressed on and took another step forward. He knew his words weren't going to reach them somehow, and panic tightened in his throat. Should he act?

He glanced at Cam, who shook his head in a silent 'no'.

He turned back to- who was this?

He stopped. "Wait- What was your name? Or are you too important to introduce yourself to other people? Perhaps Mako would be kind enough-"

"Kana." The brunette rider snapped out.

"Well, Kana. You can't deny you don't know Lillian's name. I may have just met you, but you're pretty easy to read actually." The boy accused, chin held high. "Just like an open book- I know exactly what you're thinking."

This gave Kana pause. There was someone else who used to say that to him. Maybe it was true, but he didn't care too much. "Yeah?" He managed a curious smile. "Then read me." He challenged. His tone was biting.

"Fine." Phillip drew himself up again, as if he could make himself taller by willing it to happen. "You know or have met Lillian."

Kana raised his eyebrows and said nothing, as if he were listening to the rain that pounded on the bridge behind him.

"She's talked about me."

The horseman rubbed his chin, indifferent.

"You know where she is or how she is doing, and are refusing to say it."

A shrug and a small smile. _Kid's got a mouth on him_… Kana replaced a flyaway hair and tucked it behind his ear.

"Which means that either one: you think you need to have an advantage over me by withholding information about her, or two-"

Kana was listening to the sound of the waterfall nearby, then realized the new guy had stopped speaking. He finally turned his full attention back to him, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Or two?" He asked when his curiosity won out.

"Two: You feel ashamed about her situation and don't want to talk about it."

Kana's easy smile faded and became a scowl.

And Phillip knew his arrow had hit its mark.

"So if you're done playing around with matters of life and death, I'd appreciate an update on how she is doing. Lillian and I were together a week ago, and I know for a fact that she came to your side of the mountain and is in Konohana somewhere."

Despite the fact that he found he was incredibly irritated, Kana could almost admire the kid's courage.

To his side, Mako eyed Kana suspiciously. Was there a reason he didn't want to bring her up? "Kana…" He prompted.

"Yeah, fine." The other practically spat. "Lillian's with us." He admitted.

Phillip felt his chest swell with relief- he didn't realize how he had been unable to breathe until now. "And her welfare?" He urged.

"She's perfectly well. Now." Kana added the last as an afterthought, scratching his chin again.

Wait.

"What do you mean by 'now'? What happened?"

The horseman frowned again, looking him over with an eyebrow raised. "That's what I'd like to know."

And once again Phillip felt his chest constrict, a dull fury still smoldering behind his carefully masked expression. There was something about the way this guy could sit there casually and speak a lot without managing to tell anyone anything… It made it obvious he wasn't taking this seriously at all. "Where is she now? Stop dodging my questions!" He demanded.

Kana shrugged. "It doesn't matter. She's going to be living in Konohana from here on out. Just like you are now with Bluebell." He waved at Grady and Cam. "I'd don't know how you know her, or what your relationship is, but I suggest you forget about her. Even if you love her."

The young farmer wasn't about to leave it at that. "Where is she now?" He repeated. A naked threat was in his voice even as he nearly choked on his own words.

Kana hadn't moved a muscle even though Phillip was bristling, struggling to keep himself in check. The young man had not been this angry in… ever.

Kana sighed, watching the boy struggle with himself. "Would you quit asking me that? What is she- your girlfriend? I'm telling you she's fine, yeah? You're going to have to accept that you won't be seeing her anymore." He narrowed his dark brown eyes. "Or are you just here to pick a fight- one you could never win?"

Kana nudged his horse closer to the boy, slowly making him backtrack to the dirt road behind him, maneuvering him off of the bridge entirely. "Now run along." He commanded dismissively.

"You say she's alright, but you can't provide proof." Phillip said loudly, still backing away. "Your words mean nothing here and so you're deciding to force me away. That shows your cowardice. How are you going to prove that she's alright? All I hear from the villagers on this side is how horrible you people are- can you prove them wrong- that you aren't a bunch of thieves and murderers? How am I supposed to know she's really alive, you bastard!?"

Mako chuckled again, his dark horse flicking water from its mane with a shake of the head. "What if we're all of those things, kid?" He asked darkly.

Kana stopped advancing his horse, thinking about it. "…Alright, then. She'll be at the cooking festival tomorrow afternoon. I'll bring her myself. And Phillip?"

Phillip responded with an icy glare, not trusting himself to open up his mouth and say anything else.

"She lives in Konohana, now. She'll be coming back home after the competition is over. With me."

Kana sat there in his saddle and said nothing else, waiting for them to leave, watching as Cam had to practically drag the kid away by his coat.

…

"Now I can see why you want to KILL those people!" Raved Phillip, for about the fifth time. He was angrier than he ever been in his life, and the entire way back to Bluebell he alternated between silently kicking things into the river they were skirting around and yelling loudly.

Grady had stayed behind to continue to guard the line; he'd asked the boys to have Howard come later in the evening to relieve him, just in case there was more activity than usual.

Talking to Howard was the last thing either of them wanted to do, but because Phillip was in such a sour mood he offered to do it. He felt like nothing could get any worse- who cared if that guy got angry at them for going too far?

After a long day like this he'd normally want to relax a bit, but Phillip's blood was at the boiling point, and he would take on any work that was offered to keep his mind off of it.

What did that Kana really know about his sister? Would joining up with their patrols help him to find out? He wasn't making any headway at all by raising a few animals and sitting back from the front.

If he were to be honest with himself, he wanted a piece of Kana. That guy had been smug and dismissive in the face of Phillip's honest questions. He provided only enough information to cause more worry.

_I wonder if I'll be able to sleep at all, tonight_.

One thing that was certain- there was no question now about attending the cooking contest. Entering was still out of the question- Phillip was in no hurry to identify himself as a villager of Bluebell's, although that might happen no matter what he wanted.

Not that he minded the animals- having fresh milk every day had been amazing, he did have to admit that he hadn't ever eaten as well in his life as in the last week.

It was late when he walked into the café, slamming the door open- it shook the building. "We're back." He announced.

Laney had been serving someone a piece of pie and jumped nearly out of her skin. "H-hi!" She tried to smile at him but failed miserably.

"Hey yourself." He said.

Cam followed behind him, shaking the rain off of his hat before snuggling it back over his ashen blond head.

"Phillip!" Howard came from behind the counter, hands folded in front of him as if he was always excited. "It's been a long day- I heard you went to the mountain with Cam?"

Phillip reached in his bag and grabbed a mint, handing it to Howard.

"Ohh- and you know just what I like too! You're so thoughtful."

Phillip just glared at him. "Cam took me to talk with the other side."

Slowly Howard's smile faltered, and he looked over Phillip's head to Cam. "Cam," His tone was still unnaturally happy.

Cam met Howard's gaze, his expression unreadable. "I know what you said. I took him anyways."

Howard smiled again. "I see. We'll talk about it tonight, then. Don't go to bed just yet."

Phillip saw the exchange, but Laney's behavior was more telling. She immediately ran over to Cam and started fussing over him, brushing water off of his shoulder and offering him a dry towel. He wondered what 'talking about it tonight' really meant.

"Phillip." Howard said.

"Yes?"

"I do hope you'll stay and tell me all about it- I love the latest gossip. Laney will bring us some tea."

Phillip got the feeling it was going to be a long stay, but he nodded and sat down, wondering how much Howard should end up knowing.

Probably not too much.


	16. Chapter 16: Sunlight under Clouds

Lillian was fed up with everything.

After the rain had slowed she'd finally taken to exploring her new farm, trying to sort out her feelings. Normally a cold day like this would drive her into action- she and Phillip were used to moving in chill weather to keep warm- but there was something in the haze of this particular spring day that had held her captive. Maybe it was the promise of an actual home after years of vagrancy that was making her feel so at peace?

That couldn't be it, though.

She walked out of the field and circled over to the barn, brushing the water off of her blue vest.

She grabbed a broom that was leaning up against a stall in the barn and began sweeping dirt around in no order, needing to feel her muscles in motion.

There's no way we're staying.

It's not worth it.

_I know, I KNOW it's not worth it_, she argued with herself now, brushing the ground more vigorously, scattering dried leaves and mouse poop in all directions.

It was just…

_Just what Phillip and I have always dreamed of_. She thought, frustrated. _A place to call ours- that no one could take from us_. The truth of it made her heart race. They had longed for something safe and stable since their parents passed.

Even if this place was a deception and she knew it was not safe nor stable, not truly. With life-threatening conflicts there was a shroud of peace that covered the mountain, not a real peace. Even though the villagers here seemed to live with a sense of harmony and contentment, she knew that things could change any moment. For all she knew, her and Phillip's arrival could be the very thing that spurred the conflict back into one of true violence and hatred- how was she supposed to bear the possibility of that?

And yet for some reason, standing in the middle of a foggy morning rain, in a field laden with reaching yellow wildflowers and ringed by the cover of two dozen oak trees, it felt like she was standing in the center of a new and different world. One that could be remade, could be tamed or left free. A place that would become anything she willed it to be.

It made her feel strong, having a challenge to rise to.

It made her feel vulnerable, not being able to leave.

She wanted to scream.

Looking down she realized that she'd been sweeping a huge angry pattern into the packed dirt floor of the barn and clenched her fists, finally electing to chuck the broom as far away from her as possible- it clattered against the far wall and fell without breaking onto a small pile of firewood.

She was too powerless here.

Shaking her head she went to pick the broom back up.

_Seriously, what am I doing…?_

She decided that since she was here, and could at least do something about the leaves and thick dirt that covered everything. She took up the broom again and started on one side, this time using her frustration to give her an edge over the mess.

Like it or not, they would have to leave soon. Even if Phillip was in the same situation that she was, one of them was bound to break free sooner or later and find the other. They knew when they were in over their heads, and this was certainly too much for her to take on. A farm?! She knew nothing about them!

And they would race away from this mountain and it's cursed rivalry and it's vicious people and it's stupid…

For a split second Kana's face came to mind, halting her silent tirade. The way he had looked standing quietly in the rain after she had forced him away, it had changed something in her.

Were they really vicious?

A grimace crossed her fair features.

It doesn't matter how he looked. Or how kind the nurse and doctor had been… they thought they had a new recruit on their hands, of course they would be kind to their own.

'That's for our protection!' Is what he had said when confronted with her imprisonment.

Well, maybe she would never really belong if she did stay.

So it was settled, get to the other village and find Phillip. Find Phillip, and get away. Get away and end up… where?

They had come here to learn about this place anyways, would staying for just a few weeks really be so bad?

She sighed, knowing the answer already. She finished sweeping the dirt back into the animal yard (devoid of having actual animals), and headed back outside.

She watched the clouds close in over her head, their muddled shadows casting a foreboding mood on the entire field surrounding the little house.

Of course it would be bad. Despite everything that was happening the place was hauntingly enchanting, cut off from the rest of the world and protected- even the feuding hadn't been reported anywhere. To stay for a little while might mean staying forever, and that would be a true loss of freedom.

Not wanting to waste any more time moping around, Lillian decided to see how strong the watchmen were around here.

She set off in the direction of the end of her leash- to Kana's Animals. If memory served from yesterday, there was a forked path not far away that led up and into thick woods- that may well be the way out of Konohana.

She just hoped she wouldn't have to run into _him_ again along the way.

…

Nori looked over from watching the river as it rushed past her in wild exuberance. She smiled to herself as she often did, cherishing the moment.

She could hear her grandfather's waterwheel creaking upriver, where the force of its revolutions was put to use in the seed mill inside. She breathed deep into the humid air, inhaling the energy that seemed to fill the town today.

Maybe it was because there was a cooking festival tomorrow?

They really had to win this one.

Higher up on the mountain more plants grew in better variety- the soil and air were different, and things got more sunlight. The fishing was already better on the Konohana side, but gaining the summit always increased their food supply and let them find more varieties of seeds to plant in the next season.

She was definitely going to enter. Herb salad was a seasonal favorite, after all, and she had kept a lot of lavender from winter (usually Ying requested flowers, or Rahi requested them for Ying, who would send them on to her parents). This time, the lavender was incredibly fresh, and Kana had brought her chamomile two days ago. All that was left was to get some mint.

It didn't take a glance at the sky to remind her that going to the mountain today wasn't a great idea. Visibility was minimal, the patrols were bound to be on edge, and she didn't want to get in their way.

But she knew if she didn't go, and all they had was onion salad or turnip salad, they had a good chance of loosing.

Maybe there was a way that she wouldn't have to go by herself?

With all the greens available to her village, the salad round was usually the one they could win. Yun was making either Asazuke (A fresh mix of cucumber and turnip with her special twist, bok choy), or Tofu Salad (with onion for a spicy freshness, and turnip for a woody taste). Those dishes were a great choice because Bluebell wasn't likely to have any of the vegetables necessary.

Cucumber Namu (delicious with a little drizzle of oil), was something Nori made very well, but she wanted to meet the other village head-on with their most likely choice. Since winter had ended and everything was available to them fresh, Bluebell was likely to make Herb salad, and just throw eggs or milk into everything else, because it's all they had. She was curious to see if that big guy Howard would bring a potato salad again- it was the one salad they made over there that she actually wanted to try.

Dishes with potatoes were usually very hearty and comforting, and even though salad tended to be more of a starter, Nori (who could only occasionally have milk) really wanted to taste it, just once.

Not that she would ever say that to anyone out loud.

She shook some rain from her umbrella and retied her strawberry-colored headband over her long jet black hair and set off for the teahouse.

…

Yun was sold out.

Today she'd wanted to make sushi bowls, but there was just no one that had any eggs. True, the dish could be made easily enough with just sashimi and rice, but the fish paste and egg were her important secret ingredients and she would not put something in her café that was less than perfect. Detail in the flavor was everything.

Usually she got eggs from Rahi when he went to the other village to see his siblings, but because of the chaos of the last week with the new arrivals, nobody had been allowed past either patrol.

Rahi and his brothers were the only people allowed to cross the barrier designated by the contests, and it had been that way for so long that nobody remembered why anymore. It was probably an agreement made by the former mayor and Rutger (one of few), during the cooling down period in the war. Because Rahi and his brothers Diego and Enrique (they were triplets), traded goods with each other, eventually they had made small quantities of unique items available for purchase to their home villagers.

The items Rahi typically stocked in his store (horse treats, oil, seaweed), were actually a mere fraction of what was available, and most people knew that when he put rare things up for sale in his shop it meant that there was a new variety in the back room. When Yun visited him during an afternoon off she always looked for the telltale edamame or sea urchin to let her know that she could buy eggs.

It was like that for Ayame too- she loved sweets and often would secure rice candy and have Yun make dumplings out of season for her before the café opened.

But today, and for the whole week, pickings had been slim.

Rahi was irritated because he couldn't make any money off of his secret goods, Ayame was irritated without her sugar fix, the one silver lining was that the Tea that everyone here so loved was more delicious than ever, because Yun had had a longer time to prepare it.

Ying had helped her today, and was diligently behind the counter this afternoon, cleaning up a few small cups from the earlier lunch customers. The small girl was shy, and bolted for the back room when the door opened, but stopped when she saw that it was Nori, and hugged her panda to her chest with wide eyes, as if unsure what to do.

Nori smiled easily at Ying and waved to her from the door.

"H-hi…" said Ying.

"Hi Ying," Nori said in a gentle voice. "How's your panda doing today? Is she healthy?"

Ying nodded, then finished her retreat into the back room, making her grandmother chuckle from behind the counter.

"Ying's really taken a liking to you," She told the girl in the pink yukata.

"Even though she runs away?" The girl said her dark eyes on the door Ying had bolted through.

Yun nodded sagely. "_Especially_ because she runs away. She gets nervous around people that she likes." She put her hand over her chest in a light bow. "She was very happy that you fixed her panda for her the other day. Thank you."

Nori shook her head, a light smile still playing on her lips. "It's alright. I didn't mind it." She scanned the large room with her eyes. "Did Hiro come here today? It's his day off, isn't it?"

"He's on the other side, dear."

"Okay, thanks! I need his help to gather a few ingredients."

"Ingredients… that's right!" The older woman's face lit up with excitement. "We're going to win tomorrow, with both of us participating, I'm sure of it. What are you bringing?"

Nori's smile stopped being playful and took on some determination. "I'm going to beat them with their best dish- Herb salad. You can't make salad properly without green veggies, and I'll show them that even with the same ingredients available we'll always make it better!"

Yun chuckled and beamed at her. "With that and my Tofu Salad we'll certainly come out on top this time. Good luck to you tomorrow dear."

Nori nodded. "May the fortune of the cooking festival be with you."

And she headed over to see Hiro.


	17. Chapter 17: Don't Follow Me

Nori wasn't at all surprised to find Hiro enjoying a serving of bamboo dumplings and green tea, chewing thoughtfully to himself. He was so enthralled in his relaxation, he was actually leaning back in the café's little chair and had his eyes closed as if there was a symphony playing in his head.

More likely he was thinking about the names of all the joints in the human body or something, she thought.

Not knowing why she did it, she reached carefully over and took his teacup off the table and hid behind his chair, watching him intently.

When he was done chewing and had leaned the chair back in place he reached for the cup without opening his eyes. His hand spread out over the table cloth looking for it, here and there.

Eventually he cracked an eye open with a frown and saw that it wasn't there at all. He straightened up in the seat, looking around, and that's when Nori tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

His reaction was more than she could've hoped for.

He straightened his legs in surprise as if to stand up but only succeeded in throwing the chair off balance and falling out of it.

Just as she was preparing to tease him about his reaction he stumbled into her- trying to catch himself and failing miserably.

She ended up with one arm holding the hot tea really far away from them, and the other around his shoulder to keep him from falling in some sort of awkward embrace, with one of his arms slung around her waist. She looked down at his flustered expression and couldn't hold it in anymore, letting out a series of small, hiccupping laughs.

His face went bright red and he jumped away from her, trying to cover his embarrassment in a cough.

"Sorry Hiro! I didn't think I'd surprise you that much." She was still amused but for some reason couldn't make eye contact with him for a moment. She took a deep breath and held his tea back out to him, looking away. "I don't think any got spilled." She said as a consolation.

"Oh- thank you- wait- why did you do such a thing?" He said all in a rush, setting the tea on the table with a frown.

Why did she-?

She looked over at his mussy brown hair and his serious expression and thought about what a contradiction he was.

"I don't know. I've never seen you so relaxed. It made me want to poke you to see if it was really you, I guess?"

He put his hand indignantly on his hip. "That's ridiculous. Of course I am me."

Then he smiled, and she found there was a little tug on the corner of her mouth, too. "I'm sorry- you were just adorable sitting there half asleep like that."

His frown came back. "Adorable? You sound like Dr. Ayame. I'll have you know I am a grown man."

"I know that- but my grandpa does that too, falling asleep after a good meal with some tea. It's cute." She shrugged, waiting for him to change the topic, not knowing why she was feeling embarrassed.

_Can we talk about something else now, please…?_

"Cute…" He said, thinking. "So I'm either adorable like a little kid, or cute like an old man."

She grinned at that. "I guess?"

"Somehow Nori, that perturbs me a little bit."

Her dark eyes opened widely. "I didn't mean anything by it- it's just an observation. I'll leave you back to your meal, then." She folded her hands in front of her and gave a small bow, turning fluidly on her heal in clear retreat. "I hope you're able to continue resting, Hrio. See you later."

"Wait- Nori." He said, stopping her.

She didn't turn around. "Yes?"

"Why don't you join me, we can have a snack together." He offered.

"No, I'd better not- I have a few things to prepare before the festival tomorrow."

"Oh." He said, not understanding. _Then what was she doing wasting time here?_

He watched her small frame as she waved lightly to Yun on her way out the door, perplexed. Girls were so silly, sometimes.

Coming to no conclusion, Hiro sat down to finish the rest of his tea.

…

It didn't take Nori long to head towards the mountain after that, rain or no. While it was true she almost never went up there, and had never gone alone, her heart was set on it now. Especially after the way her innocent teasing had bothered Hiro, she didn't want to ask him for a favor or cause anymore trouble. It was for her contest entry dish, too, so she should take care of it.

When she was a little girl her grandpa had gone with her often to catch bugs, so it was a place with fond memories, and she had her umbrella and loved being out in the rain. Altogether it should be a good trip.

She passed by Kana's animals on the way out of town and saw that it was closed.

_That's right… it's Friday. He must be patrolling_.

That made her feel a little better about venturing into the forest in this weather. She continued on, and stopped briefly to wave at Sheng. He didn't see her, as he was busy watching his field from under an umbrella and chewing on a long stalk of bamboo.

Anyone else would have had a hard time eating raw bamboo that hadn't even been split open and cooked, but not Sheng. There he was in all of his panda-hat glory, gnawing away at something so splintery and tough it should've been making his gums bleed. He looked… happy, if that was possible for a man with a never-ending scowl that was made up entirely of a single long, bushy unibrow.

She thought he was best left alone and continued on into the forest, hoping to find her ingredients fast.

…

Lillian had lost track of time. She had seen a few useful things in the forest along the way and had gathered them- some plants, a few more bamboo stalks (who would've thought that was all it took to get past the outer guard), and a couple of walnuts, which she cracked open on a rock and ate immediately. It had been an inordinate amount of time since she had last eaten, and the little handful of nuts she's just had only served to awaken the starving beast within her.

She tried to concentrate on just putting one step in front of the other and not slipping in puddles or on any of the little green frogs that seemed to keep appearing from everywhere.

She should've been more prepared… but who would've thought her first opportunity for escape would come along this early? There had been no choice but to take it. The very basis of any survival was the freedom to move.

It was terribly tempting to stop and rest, but she knew better. She had to get to the other village and seek shelter. Even in her tired delirium, she knew that the likely outcome would be that she and Phillip both become prisoners of the other side together, but she wasn't about to leave this mountain without him. Whatever was going to happen, they were going to face this challenge together.

The people of Konohana hadn't been that bad- eccentric, from what she'd seen, but that was probably a result of their seclusion out here. Who could blame them for forming unusual habits and finding odd ways to cope with their situation?

Maybe the villagers in Bluebell weren't as bad as everybody said. They were all just people after all. Fundamentally wanting security and happiness.

Finally she came to a little clearing off the side of the main pathway that had a fallen tree across straight across it. The cools had opened up momentarily and little beams of light were filtering down through the canopy amongst the rain. A single white butterfly was at the edge of the path and flying in a dazed pattern, as if it had just awoken from a long slumber. After a moment of starting transfixed at the beauty she decided to sit down- which felt amazing to her tired legs.

Maybe some time was all she needed to sort everything out.

She knew the dizziness wasn't just from running around today without sleep, it was quickly becoming obvious that she hadn't recovered fully from her hospitalization and the trauma of her accident over a week ago. Not that she wanted to dwell on it, but what was she going to do if this walk took all night? Sleep in the forest? Maybe build some kind of lean-to shelter from the rain and pull her arms inside her dress for warmth?

She had no sense of humor right now to even scoff at the thought. It was too close to being an actual possibility.

The situation was bad, but not bad enough to make her turn around. No way was she going to be locked inside again! Taking her chances with the wild animals seemed much better.

_Who am I kidding, that sounds terrifying!_

She put her head in hands, exhausted and overwhelmed, and just sat for a while, getting pelted with rain. "What am I going to do?" She asked no one in particular.

"Well for starters, it depends on what you need right now." A timid voice said from in front of her.

Lillian's lilac eyes flew open and took in a small form in the mist. It dimly registered that the rain had stopped falling on her, and as her eyes focused she was able to tell that this was the girl the nurse had waved to when she first had walked the village.

What was her name… too many to remember.

Her heart raced and some of her exhaustion left her when she realized that this encounter meant the game was up- she had been caught by the village again.

Another rush of panic washed over her and drove her to her feet- she hoped the girl couldn't tell how dizzy getting up so fast had made her- and shot her fist out into the girl's stomach.

The girl dropped the umbrella she'd shielded them with and doubled over in pain as Lillian ran with all of her remaining strength, down the path for several heartbeats until the clearing was out of sight.

She thought she heard the girl's timid voice coming up behind her but that shouldn't be possible for how hard she had been hit.

_Don't follow me!_

Lillian didn't risk looking back and kept running, tears finally streaming from her eyes as she went, her legs weak and her knees buckling. All she could do was pray that they didn't give out and betray her.


	18. Chapter 18: A Turning Point

The young farm girl dove into the first good cover she could find off the side of the pathway when her legs finally began to sink back towards the earth and listened intently, with all the fear of a hunted animal that was just waiting for the trap to snap shut.

Her legs were trembling and she was cold, but she was not caught yet.

Tears still fell from her eyes, but they were silent as her wide eyes tried to watch everything all at once from the bushes. Her ears strained to know the sound of approaching threats, but kept bringing her only the peaceful sounds of rain, frog song and rustling leaves swept by wind.

The exhaustion crept back over her and fought with the fear the roiled in her belly. One of the muscles in her arm started twitching a nervous rhythm without her telling it to move.

Why was this happening to her, to them? She shook her head to clear it and angrily wiped her tears with the back of her hand as she crouched low, not wanting to get soaked by sitting down.

_Life is hard. Keep getting back up and everything will be okay_, she told herself firmly.

_Everything will eventually be okay…_

But it was getting colder. Tired or not, she should get moving again. Maybe she'd get a second wind and make it through the night.

Just as she stepped out from her cover the sound of hooves on wet earth slopped messily in the distance. It was hard to make out how many, but definitely more than one animal.

She cringed and dove back behind the bushes, this time kneeling in cold, dark mud.

This day was quickly becoming the second worst day of her life.

Voices followed the hooves and she caught the middle of a conversation.

"Did you see his outfit?" It wasn't difficult to pick out Kana's cheerful voice. "That khaki gave him away immediately. Whatever the situation was last week, he's definitely on their side now. Guess that means we don't have to hold back."

"Do you ever hold back?" A deeper, more foreboding rumble came from the second horse. It held an unhappy edge, unless that was how this person always talked?

"Oh, c'mon, you aren't seriously upset that nobody wanted to discuss fruit trees?! They only care about animals over there anyway, man, they wouldn't know how to care for trees- they'd probably water them everyday and drown them!"

The deep voice laughed easily at that. "They take a certain kind of care."

The talking stopped as they got closer, were they listening instead? Had she made a mistake? She looked around to make sure none of her clothing was sticking out through her cover.

Lillian held her breath. If these two were the guard, all they had to do was keep going and she could travel freely to the other side of the mountain.

She cheered inwardly for them to hurry up- this mud was nasty, too.

Then footfalls could be heard coming from the path she had just taken and her heart sank. It had to be that girl.

"Hark!" Boomed the deeper voice. "If it isn't Nori come to greet us!"

Nori, that was her name. Lillian felt bad for hitting her, but at the time it was instinct. Now moments later she still wasn't home free, even after all this!

_Go AWAY!_ She thought.

"N-not greet you, exactly." The girl's quiet voice huffed.

Lillian heard Kana get off of his horse. The dismount was smooth, and even on the wet ground he made almost no noise when he landed.

"What's going on?" Alarm was in his voice. "You have an umbrella- but you're completely drenched!"

"The new girl…" Nori panted. "I just tried to greet her, and she-"

"She what? Don't tell me she's on the mountain?" Kana's alarm came out more like anger this time.

Lillian cringed. Great. Still, at least this wasn't the worst day of her life. She would bear a day like this a thousand times to bring her parents back to life.

_Come and get me, you jerk. _Lillian sneered behind her cover. Maybe this would work. They would go back to the clearing and give her a head start. All she had to do was get past the border, right? As soon as they were out of hearing range, she would count to fifty, and then start her sprint.

She carefully changed her kneeling position to angle her towards the way she wanted to go-and suddenly a loud gurgle emerged from her stomach that stopped everything.

Lillian resisted the urge to let out the world's longest stream of profanities.

Kana's was the first voice she heard after that and he spoke quietly. "Did she… come this way?" He asked.

Nori probably nodded or something because then his footfalls got uncomfortably close to her hiding spot.

_Run, or fight? What am I supposed to do, climb a tree or something?_

_Darn it, I'm hungry!_

…

Mako was having a good day. Even though he'd had to spend more time away from his farm than ever because patrolling had increased, this many exciting things didn't usually happen in at the same time. Ever since Ina took over, the policy had been 'each village only worries about their own business'. While he could admire that kind of focus (it wasn't going to be easy to forgive what Bluebell had done to them or to convince others to forget their anger), the recent peace had been boring.

What had all of the training been for? He wondered if his son was learning how to fight, or if Ina was only having him read books everyday. Mako was thankful for Kana, who was following his wishes to teach the boy offensive riding a few days a week. He might just grow up prepared for conflict after all.

He missed the action of fighting with the other village, nothing was worse than waiting for something to happen.

Meeting Phillip earlier had been a breath of fresh air, even though he was loyal to Bluebell. It was going to be better that way, actually. He was young and brazen and would put up a good fight. It would be a challenge to their defenses to keep him away.

His sister, now lost in the woods for the second time in nearly a week, was proving to be just as energetic. She was the one they had to keep from leaving, if they ever wanted to have enough food to feed everyone. She had been given the largest property in the town, defunct after years of neglect and damage in the conflicts. Nobody had been willing to take it because it was on the outskirts and would be the first property attacked if things went out of control again.

But the courage this girl had shown against them- even punching sweet Nori straight in the gut- he really liked her spirit- she may just have the nerve that was needed to turn that farm around.

A sharp rumble came from the bushes nearby and interrupted his thoughts. He tried to place the noise, but Kana's quiet question clinched it- she had she come this way and was hiding not a few feet out of sight.

He watched unmoving as the tall tanned rancher confidently approached the thicket and leaned down, only to be surprised by two little pale hands shooting out of the bush and slapping him on either side of the head- boxing his ears.

Mako let out a roar of laughter at the look on Kana's face as the kid stood up immediately and started to go around the bushes.

"Why you little-" Kana started, looking dazed.

A few snapping twigs sounded before Lillian appeared on the other side in a streak of motion.

She only got a few bounds away from her cover before Mako, having dismounted himself, had caught her by the wrist. "No you don't."

And finally Lillian had to admit the game was up. She had nothing left to fight with, and was completely overpowered.

Despair hit her like a blow and she nearly fell from it. They would never let her leave their sight again, she was sure of it this time.

Was she going to fight, and die in their war now too? She had no answers. Mako produced a rope from his saddle bag and bound her arms behind her back, telling her to walk.

She obeyed, thoroughly intimidated by him and too exhausted to speak.

On the walk back to the village Kana kept a horse between them, and Lillian knew he didn't think what he was doing was right.

But he did it anyways. She tried not to make this fresh betrayal of his personal, he'd already explained his reasons- but now she knew that he was not going to do anything to help her. Even though she should have been prepared for it, it hurt.

…

Nori sat quietly back at the hospital, debating what to do. This was the kind of thing that had kept her away from the mountain. She didn't mind going up there for a picknick in the daylight, or during a festival, she felt safe enough then. Normally it was just too untamed and wild to even step foot into.

Like it had been today.

She held her hands carefully in her lap to keep them from shaking.

In the other room she could hear Hiro, in the middle of a long tirade about personal wellbeing and how Lillian should have taken better care of herself. She had a fever again. He wasn't yelling, just not stopping even to breathe.

Normally she admired his ability to tell other people what they needed to hear when no one else cared enough to say it, but today Nori felt… ashamed.

It was pretty obvious that Lillian had been ready for anything in order to get away. She didn't seem to care that she had put her life in danger by pushing herself carelessly- this was the sort of thing that set Hiro off. But Nori had to watch that poor girl being forcibly dragged all the way back down the mountain with her hands tied behind her back like she was some kind of war criminal, sobbing inconsolably that she'd been discovered.

_We must all seem like monsters…_

And a lecture from the normally kind Nurse Hiro was the last thing that she probably needed right now.

Kana had excused himself quickly after leaving her at the hospital, and Mako was outside the room acting as a guard, saying nothing.

Their behavior was unusual, so Nori was pretty sure they (or at least Kana) felt badly about the whole thing too.

Finally she stood up, hearing enough, and marched over to room where Lillian was.

Mako looked at her as she approached him. His body was blocking the door.

She didn't want to deal with something like this. Being assertive was not something Nori was good at, so she just stared at the much taller, much older man whom she had grown up learning to respect, having no idea what to say.

After a while of them just starting at each other, Mako cleared his throat and moved a step to the side.

She wondered what kind of face she was making for him to just move like that.

Hiro saw her come out of the corner of his eye and kept going mid-sentence.

"…you aren't thinking about what will happen after you're gone. Do you think your brother would want to see you this way? I'm sure he would want you to protect yourself! The human body is a very delicate thing and it takes great care to keep it healthy- you can't live life on autopilot." The young nurse had a hand on his hip and was using the other to make frustrated gestures. "Pardon my forwardness in telling you all of this Lillian, but you are a part of our town now, of our family-"

"My only family is my brother." The girl said quietly, interrupting. She had finally gotten a hot bath but her mood had not improved. She sat back in the hospital bed, a tray of rice balls sitting in front of her, too angry now to eat. A towel was still wrapped around her hair, and she was wearing one of their thick white robes again.

That got Hiro to slow down a bit "We-well, that may have been true at one point, but I'm willing to bet that there are people here who care for you now and-"

"I'm not going back to be locked inside that stupid farmhouse!" The girl said, ire roused at last. "If I can't be with my brother than I might as well die, you can kill me- because he is the only reason I am alive at all, and all we have is each other! We're two seconds apart, for God's sake and you people managed to make it two seconds and a week!"

Hiro shut up entirely at her scathing tone, looking flabbergasted, and Nori stepped forward.

"You can stay at my house, if you like."

The girl narrowed her eyes, dark amethyst now that the sun had set. "Why?" She demanded.

Why? Why was she offering? Nori put her hand over her stomach, the muscles there still aching a bit. "Because you can leave at any time."

Lillian's breathing slowed as she tried not to let her confusion show on her face.

"I just…" Nori tried to find a way to express what she was feeling. "I don't like it, any of this." She directed her attention to Hiro and made her normally quiet and gentle voice loud enough that Mako could hear from outside. "These boys are making our village look bad. This is not the way to welcome a visitor!"

Hiro's mouth was hanging open a bit but he quickly shut it. He looked like he still had more to say.

Nori coughed in her hand, trying to compose herself and smiled shyly at the girl. "I'm sorry that I discovered you earlier, you may have been able to meet your brother by now. I'd like to make it up to you by offering a safe place to sleep and a warm meal. We won't lock any doors, we won't force you to stay."

Mako stepped in the room then. "I couldn't help but over hear you, Nori…" There was an edge of challenge in it.

"You were supposed to hear me." She said. "I know Ina wants her to stay and take on that difficult farm, but I don't care. I want us to remember who is innocent in all of this."

Lillian felt a rush of relief at the sincerity of the girl's words. It seemed like someone here was sane after all?

She didn't know what to say so she just got up from the bed and walked over to Nori, surprising the girl with a hug that lasted for several moments.

Nori could tell the girl was holding back tears because she was shaking.

"Thank you…" Lillian whispered.

"It gets better." Nori stated easily.

Lillian let go of the embrace and cringed. There was more already?

"I hear your brother will be going to the cooking festival tomorrow. Let's go together and greet him properly."

And for the first time in her life, Lillian knew she had a chance at making a real and true friend.

"Okay." She smiled widely, not able to help herself.


	19. Chapter 19: Preparations

It had been awkward, after that.

Hiro had worked hard to recover the situation, saying that he had nothing to do with her retrieval and was only concerned as a Doctor in training, for her safety. He stressed how worried he had been when he found out she had been alone on the mountain, and she found herself able to believe him.

He tried in vain to get her to eat- she was still in no mood for it, finding her appetite had been entirely lost.

Nori escorted her out of the hospital as quickly as she could after that, predicting accurately that Mako would be stunned by her unusual forwardness, just as he was earlier when he let her in the room with no words spoken.

The two arrived at the mid-sized farm in the heart of Konohana together, and Nori took a few moments to explain where everything could be found (food, extra clothes to sleep in, a futon), and then did something Lillian never would have expected.

After receiving a change of clothes and sitting quietly around the dining table with a cup of hot green tea (about all Lillian could stomach), the tall young village girl pulled out a small piece of paper and started to write… or was she drawing?

Lillian was enraptured by what the other was doing. Nori didn't seem to be the type to do anything without purpose, so she found herself sitting still without asking any questions and just watching her draw.

Finally, she turned the paper upside down, added a few more lines to it, and slid it across the table without explaining it. There was emotion on her face that was difficult to understand, and Lillian got the idea that what Nori was doing was difficult for her. It looked like she was being brave somehow.

But what could it possibly be? There were odd icons, it was sort of like a series of images, almost a pattern? Trees lined the other images here and there, some randomly placed and others in order. The other shapes just didn't mean anything.

At the raised eyebrow from Lillian, the tall Konohanian made a small gesture.

Lillian understood it (still not sure why they were playing the quiet game) and set the paper down.

Nori pointed somewhere behind the where Lillian had set her tea, and she followed it with her eyes, seeing the side of a large wooden machine that dominated the great room of the shop.

Her other hand pointed to an image on the page that looked a lot like a drum…

And Lillian's eyes went wide- flying to search the other's face.

It was a map.

The drum on the page was her grandfather's seedmill- so, the shop here was the drum. The neat rows of trees below that was Mako's Orchard, and the river was indicated by a row of three small fish in a line.

Drawn entirely without roads, Lillian could see the whole town laid out. Wherever a road was supposed to begin, Nori had put a little flower. A horse and foal next to each other was the animal shop, and three turnips to the left represented the small unoccupied house and field across from it. All the way to right was a single lily flower.

That was the farm they were supposed to give her… she was the lily.

Nori smiled and pulled a similar paper from her yukata sleeve, this one having a bright pink thread coming from it, folded over with a tiny silver needle.

"I cross stitch in my spare time." She explained as she opened the new paper, showing Lillian a similar design that was a wheat field in bloom with mice and surrounded by adorable little cherry trees.

It was genius. A map to the village, hidden in plain sight as a needlepoint pattern. But why would she want to make it?

"It's not too late to make this in time for tomorrow." Nori said quietly.

"Too late for tomorrow?" Lillian could only repeat her words, feeling too tired to understand much more than this. She took a deep breath and a long gulp of the amazingly satisfying tea, setting the cup down empty.

Nori watched her as if she knew what she was thinking, and Lillian wanted to throw her hands up in the air. The day had been too long for all of this. It was a neat idea, but what was the point of it?

As if knowing her frustration, Nori leaned forward and whispered. "I can finish this tonight and give it to your brother tomorrow."

A light slowly dawned in amethyst eyes. "You mean to have Phillip find me?" She asked, incredulous. "Why would you…"

Instead of answering the unspoken question, the girl with jet black hair and obsidian eyes asked one of her own. "Can I trust your brother? Will he try to hurt us with this?"

Lillian slowly shook her head no. "He's not any happier than I am, I know that much. But there's no point in a thing like revenge. We would rather be alive and well than invest in a thing like war."

Nori breathed a slow sigh out and Lillian continued to speak. "Our habit when we end up somewhere unsafe is simple… we leave. There's… nothing here for us."

The girl's dark eyes shone with a touch of regret, but she nodded. "I'll do what I can while you're here to help you. Mako and the others… they aren't right. But please, don't hate them. It's true that our people here have lost so much, but you should never have to pay for their fear."

Lillian nodded, and both girls rose from the table at the same time. They knew the conversation was over, and neither one wanted to dwell on the inevitable.

…

The next morning both villages were ripe with anticipation for the competition. It was their only rule of honor in this war to participate and abide by the outcome of this weekly event. There had never been a day when either village did not stand by the decision of the celebrity judge about who had won the rights to use the summit and surrounding areas.

Pierre was always honest and gave each dish the same amount of time and the same chance to get a good score. He tasted dishes even when they were the wrong category for the contest, even though they weren't going to get a good mark. He was well respected by both sides for is impartial honesty.

Maybe that was why Nori had so been looking forward to making herb salad and challenging Bluebell at their own game- she knew Pierre would be able to tell that hers was better.

She dressed hurriedly in the morning in excitement and ran to the kitchen to make the tea and miso soup before her grandpa woke up. That way she could water the fields early and get started on her entry, making it as perfectly as possible.

Going through the motions of preparing breakfast was a comforting routine that she looked forward to every day. By the time she was done preparing everything, she usually had her whole day planned out in her mind and could work out any problems she was going to have to face.

Today didn't feel like the normal routine though, and she was having trouble placing the reason why. It felt like… she was forgetting something.

As she was carefully adding the tofu into the soup the events of the previous evening came rushing back to her all at once.

"Lillian!" She exclaimed, practically dropping the tofu in without another glance at it. She turned the gas down on the stove and went back to her room- to see the girl still deep asleep on the extra futon they had rolled out.

She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling more than a little dumb for not noticing her there when she woke up this morning.

The girl was safe, sleeping soundly.

After finishing their conversation, Lillian had laid her head down and fallen asleep right away while Nori stayed up longer to work on her needlepoint.

Nori had secretly hoped that they would stay up talking so she could learn more about the girl. In truth (despite the violent introduction yesterday) Nori really admired the passion that Lillian had. She had been willing to stand up against anyone and anything to get her family back together. It was the kind of courage that inspired her, and probably the reason she had the strength to stand up to the boys and tell them they were wrong.

For someone quiet like Nori, who couldn't even tell her grandpa that she didn't really want to take over the farm and seed shop, Lillian was almost easygoing in her honesty- like a spring breeze.

…

When Lillian finally woke up it felt like her body hadn't moved in a lifetime. She became self aware long before she found strength enough to open her eyes. A part of her was dreading that she was back in the little farm house after all, and it was only the sounds she kept hearing that convinced her she was somewhere else entirely.

She heard the steady rhythm of a large but simple machine echoing a few rooms away.

She heard the tinkling of a tiny bell when a store door opened and voices on occasion.

She tried placing the closest voice, but it was so quiet that she gave up.

Then she realized it was Nori's.

Her possibly actual friend, and if not at least the first real person she's met here. She bolted upright and stood- nearly slipping on the futon in the process.

Today was the cooking thingy!

She looked around for her clothes and saw the little Konohana outfit hanging on a small clothesline in front of the window. She grabbed it and put it on- it had an amazing freshly laundered smell- and rolled up the futon as quickly as she could.

When she cleaned up the room a bit she went to go through the door, and hesitated, suddenly feeling self conscious. For some reason she wanted Nori and her grandfather… to like her.

What a foreign concept.

Aside from Phillip, there was really no one that she'd wanted to be close to, not since they'd lost so much and moved so often. True, the people that ran the homeless shelter had been nice, and when they got odd jobs in places there was always a boss to impress or customers to help, but this was different. It was the first time in a while she actually found herself hoping to be close to someone.

She thought of Kana too for a moment, but let it pass. She didn't need friends like him.

Running to the bathroom real quick she brushed out the mess of her hair and stepped into the great room of the house (adjacent to the main storefront).

"Nori?" She called when she was finished.

"Over in the kitchen." Came the quiet voice she was slowly starting to recognize.

She wondered over, still feeling a bit awkward. There was a thick smell of onions in the air. The young girl stood over the counter, chopping in quick succession.

"Is that your dish for the cooking thing?" She asked.

Nori nodded. She finished slicing the fresh onions and ran them under some cool water quickly to cut down on their pungent scent. She dried off her hands on a towel and turned around. "I was going to make a better salad, but in all the chaos of the afternoon yesterday, I didn't get to find any mint."

Lillian thought for a moment. "So what happens if you can't make the better dish?"

"We could risk losing this week. That's alright though. I have faith in Yun- she runs the teahouse- her dish will be top notch." There was no disappointment in Nori's voice. "Besides, I'm not going to give up, either- the contest hasn't even started yet, and we do have the best vegetables. I can't wait to see the results of our hard work!"

They shared a smile, Lillian couldn't help it. The girl's attitude was infectious. What a nice change this was.

"So how did you sleep?" Nori asked.

"Like a rock." Lillian replied.

"You looked like a rock. You didn't even move."

"I'm still a little surprised I'm moving…" Lillian admitted, fixing her wide red headband better in her tawny and chestnut hair. "I would've walked all the way to Bluebell, even if it killed me."

Nori nodded. "I know. Still, I'm sorry."

Lillian shook her head. "You don't have to be. I must've been delirious. Thanks." She smiled again. "Besides, this way I know I might get to see him…" Her voice trailed off, lost in thought. "Actually- hey!"

Nori jumped a bit. "Yes?"

"I gathered a bunch of greens in the forest that I thought might be edible. Do you want to look and see if one of them can be used in your recipe?"

Nori smiled in appreciation, but her hesitation was obvious. "Thank you kindly, but you earned those, I didn't."

Lillian frowned. "I don't care about that. Look."

She pushed her rucksack into the other's hands, surprising her a bit.

"I… I couldn't."

"Really." She smiled to assure her. "I didn't even know what was edible. I guess these ones are actually weeds?" She pulled a bunch of tall onion-like stalks out of it and said sheepishly, "I thought they were chives. I guess I have a lot to learn about plants."

Nori smiled a little and relented with a shy nod.

"You go ahead and look." Lillian instructed. "I'm going to see if your grandpa needs anything right now."

Before the taller girl could stop her, Lillian was out of sight.

Nori smiled to herself.

_She's a kind girl, after all…_

…

Later on they set out together for the contest, Nori proudly carrying a stack of covered dishes (She had made three different kinds of salad, and was going to decide which one looked better when they crested the summit- in case anything wilted). Thankfully there had been plenty of mint among the weeds and mushrooms in the rucksack, so Nori was able to make her herb salad after all, and that was most likely what she was going with today.

Lillian had spent the better part of her morning working with the girl's adorable grandfather Gombe in the field learning to till and plant (although she insisted she didn't need to learn it), and finally finished the watering just in time to leave with the main group of villagers.

It turned out Sheng didn't attend these things all the time, so she stopped in briefly to thank him and gave him another bamboo stalk in greeting, making him grin from ear to ear.

He was strange, but for some reason Lillian felt better after meeting him. Not only was it going to be easy to bribe him to leave whenever there was bamboo around, he seemed oblivious to the fact that she was an outsider.

On the other hand, Mako sat proudly saddled on the other side of the group, eyeing her interaction with Gombe. There was brief eye contact between the two, and Lillian couldn't stop herself from sticking out her tongue at him. The older man looked away as if nothing had happened, showing her his eyepatch instead.

Typical.

A kind looking elder woman came up to Nori with a covered dish and a smile. That must be Yun.

Kana joined the group from the other side -on a different horse today? This animal seemed to step confidently and more carefully, somehow. Lillian wasn't sure what made her notice.

She saw him scan the crowd until his eyes fell on her, which for some reason made her heart beat a little bit faster.

He looked away quickly just as Mako had, another person pretending they didn't hold her in contempt?

For some reason this made Lillian's blood boil, and she found herself marching over in his direction-

"Awright everyone, let's get going!" Kana suddenly yelled, getting the group's attention. The Konohanians cheered and started heading out- the back end of Mako's mount vanishing into the forest first.

Well that stopped her advance. Did he do that on purpose? She decided to yell at him later for avoiding her.

Or did she need to avoid him because he kept acting like a jerk?

Whatever, it was too confusing. Nevermind already!

Lillian decided to put him out of her mind and focus on finding her brother today.

If he wasn't at the summit for the contest, she needed to find a way to slip past- well, everyone- and get to the other side.

She hoped it wouldn't come to more fighting.

Then again, a part of her hoped it would.


	20. Chapter 20: Get Up Here!

_Author's Note: For those of you who are waiting for Phillip and Lillian to be reunited- thank you for your feedback. These last few chapters have been a little bit longer because I have to show you how everyone is changing, so that the story doesn't seem forced later. I didn't think it would take this long either, but there were a few people whose motivations I want to better understand, so I stayed with them a bit. _

_My feeling is that this will pay off later, and I plan for the pace of the story to pick up very soon. _

_Thanks and always feel free to tell me what you think!_

_..._

_..._

Phillip's legs couldn't carry him fast enough. He marched ahead with the group from Howard's café- Cam, Laney, Howard, Georgia and her father.

There was too much on his mind to enjoy casual conversation, so he was silent for the trip to the summit, which nobody seemed to mind.

Laney was keeping pace carefully with Cam, as if she felt unsafe being more than a few feet away from him. Phillip wasn't so full of himself that he'd believe she was avoiding him, but there was a part of him that regretted being so bold with her the previous day. Even though she appeared strong and reliable, and was clearly a hard worker, the swiftness in which his honesty had made her uncomfortable told a different tale than her outward appearance. When he'd asked her to start over, he'd meant it.

As he watched the two walking he noticed how comfortable she and Cam really were, and was able to witness their friendship. It was as if Laney was letting down her guard and able to relax.

There was a pattern within Bluebell. The outward appearance meant everything here. Georgia and Laney seemed to get along fine, but the few times Phillip had walked past one of their afternoon conversations, had noticed with some surprise the intense politeness of it.

Even the expressions on some people's faces (notably Cam, Jessica and Rose), held an air of constant performance. Not as if they didn't want to be open with other people exactly, but more like there was a general opinion that no one would understand if they did.

Phillip rolled his eyes at himself. _That's not the sort of thing that should matter to me_, he thought. _This whole place has about, one more hour of my time, unless by some miracle…_

He stopped walking for a moment.

Was he… worried about these people, now? Concerned for them?

_It must just be because I know what they've all gone through_, his mind sang out as if mocking him._ You care about them… you want to help… they aren't forcing you to do anything anymore_…

He looked around, slowly starting to walk again.

Howard was lively, and kept going out of his way to explain the importance of different ingredients to whomever would listen, and occasionally pouted to several people in the group that they hadn't participated in a while. Jessica and Laney had brought dishes, and so escaped his nagging wrath.

Rose and Jessica made up the heart of the Bluebell group, talking quietly to each other like old friends, and Ash and his family walked a few minutes behind them, Cheryl running circles around her brother as per usual.

One thing that was noticeable at the front was the terse tones Grady was using to speak with his daughter while they went along. Georgia and he rode slightly ahead of the group, and Phillip couldn't help but feel like she was being admonished for something.

He was out of earshot, so he feigned indifference to the whole thing to be polite, but it was sort of funny to see someone with such a forceful personality being tempered by an elder. She seemed to respect her father, and even her arguing was polite.

It was sort of endearing to watch them.

_So this is what a family is like_.

A break in his focus came when Ash made his way to the front of the group and fell in step with him, Cheryl calling from behind to remind him that there were butterflies to catch.

Ash smiled easily at his sister over his shoulder. "I got it! You look for them on the left; I'll check the right while we climb!"

"Okay!" The cheerful voice answered with a childlike faith. "I haven't gotten a Mayama Swallowtail yet!"

Once Cheryl was satisfied that her brother was still going to help her look, Ash turned his attention to the newcomer. "So, we haven't spoken a lot…"

Phillip kept looking straight ahead. "Right."

"Right. Heh. So, I just wanted to see how you've been doing."

Phillip scanned the sky and thought about it for a moment. "I'm keeping out of trouble." He answered.

Ash nodded. "Yeah I noticed. I'd be tearing this place apart if I were you." His voice held a note of conspiracy. "I'm glad you've been helping out despite everything that's happened."

Phillip finally turned and looked the other guy in the eye. "I've been feeding chickens and watching a few flowers grow." Suddenly he thought better of his tone, and added, "Cam knows the woods well, so he'd been helping me search for her in the meantime."

"He… had been? It's not like Cam to cut out early. Did something happen?"

"Well, we know she's not been where I can reach her." He flicked his auburn hair out of his face as if indifferent. "I'm only coming along today in case Kana keeps his word."

Ash's bright eyes darkened at the news. "You've been talking to them?"

A shrug. "Just the once. Does it matter?"

The straw-haired farmboy was speechless. Of course it mattered. Did he really have to explain something like that?

Phillip waved to Ash in parting and walked ahead, not wanting to bother with where this conversation was going. This was not the place or time for an argument.

Before he could get far, Ash caught up. "I can't believe you talked to him, him of all people!" He said under his breath.

"So? That's the only way to figure your enemy out isn't it, to go find out about them." A small smile tugged the corner of his mouth up. "Don't tell me you've never tried just talking to them."

"It's not that…" Ash began, backpedaling. "We want to keep the peace, that's all."

"Your peace is a fraud." Phillip said simply. "Especially if it can be broken by a single conversation."

The young farmer looked down at his feet while they walked. "I don't see it that way…"

Phillip's smile became patient. "Would you let your sister play outside without you? Do you walk the mountain alone?"

"Well, no… but I don't need to. Our village is safe and we can be free within it's walls."

"Okay." Phillip suddenly threw his hands up in irritation, giving up on him. "You can say whatever you like about it. It's just… a little depressing is all."

That got Ash's attention. "What do you mean, depressing?!" He clenched a fist at his side without realizing he was doing it.

Philip eyed him carefully, wondering if he was the type to accept the truth, wondering why he was bothering, as an outsider, to inject his opinions into everything recently. This place was getting under his skin. "Well, it's ironic."

"What is?"

"The fact that you all keep yourselves imprisoned the same way you're keeping me. Under close watch, everyone nervous to know the other people's business, like you all don't… trust each other." He finished, waiting for the kid to have a temper tantrum like his sister.

Ash simply grew quiet- probably in thought- and said simply "That's your opinion," before marching ahead to greet the rest of his friends.

…

It didn't take them long to reach the summit, because everyone was excited and walking quickly, they easily lost track of time.

For Phillip it took forever. But finally, there were the two Mayors, standing side by side to the entrance of the courtyard. The tall pillars topped in orange flame burned behind them, and everything was covered in flowers and ribbons.

For a moment he understood how it must have been long ago when everyone got along well… to have feasts and dancing and competitions up here must have been amazing.

The Mayor from Konoahana looked his way and took him out of his musings. She stared with a fierce confidence, her expression severe and posture statuesque. She barely moved while she waited for her group and looked as if she had been cut from stone. Her raven hair fell over ivory features and framed an apple-shaped face, devoid of humor. She didn't look mean exactly, she just didn't look like 'nice' was a concept worthy of her attention.

He watched as the Bluebell villagers all greeted Rutger one by one to gain admittance, until it was just him standing alone in front of them.

Rutger adjusted his tiny top hat and stepped forward to say something, but at the same time Phillip approached Ina, putting out his hand. The old man stopped, confused.

"I'm Phillip; I'm new on the mountain." He tried the friendly approach.

Ina looked him over and then gave him a small nod. "I'm afraid if you'd like to participate in the contest, you must do so under your own village's guidance." She let her eyes rake over Rutger, who shrugged in a carefree way as if nothing she could do would ever trouble him.

"Don't bother with her." Rutger said from the side. "Come join the rest of us- our special guest judge will be here any moment!"

Phillip looked past his supposed mayor and shook his head. "I'm waiting for someone first." He said. "I'm sure you know that."

"Oh… of course."

And so he turned and they waited, with palpable silence that hung over the entrance to the courtyard as if dangling from a weight and ready to drag everything in its path down with it. It felt like the scarlet-clad Mayor (Mayoress? Whatever they called lady Mayors) was staring a hole in the back of his head. He felt the hairs rise up on his neck, but he stood his ground in abject patience.

Phillip was a bit surprised when Cam came out to check on him after some time had passed.

In his normal way, the tall florist strode over and met his gaze, saying nothing and adjusting his plaid hat. They looked on together, over a wide chasm that spanned beyond the mountain's path.

Phillip decided to speak first. "Is Laney going to be okay with you leaving her side like that?"

A fraction of a smile broke the boredom on Cam's face. "She's fine with me, it's you she's mad at."

Phillip shrugged. "At least she's done pretending."

"For the moment." Cam agreed.

The shorter guy chuckled at that.

The two waited quietly, the Mayors standing like permanent fixtures behind them.

Just when Phillip thought he couldn't wait any longer, he felt his breath catch at the sound of distant hoofbeats.

_Finally. Get up here!_

…

Lillian had endured a lot in the last few days. Too much to really figure out right now. The one thing that held her thoughts together was up there waiting.

They needed to move faster.

Her heartbeat quickened when they passed the waterfall and she realized that this had been where she'd fallen from, where Kana had found her. It was steep and rocky. How had she survived something like that with no broken bones?

She looked for him, for a second, not knowing why she did it. He was still bringing up the rear of the group, and she silently stood for a moment while other people passed her by.

Nori was the first to stop, followed by Hiro. They didn't say anything as if they knew what was going on inside her mind.

"I'm glad you're okay now." Hiro finally said, excusing himself with a light touch on her shoulder.

Nori went to follow him, but hesitated.

Lillian gave her a small smile. "I'll be fine." She assured the other girl.

Nori nodded too then and moved on with the rest of the group.

She decided it was time to face Kana. They would be leaving soon, she might not… actually see him after this. She steeled herself and tried not to be impatient, shuffling from one foot to the other. When he finally noticed she was standing on the bridge alone, he stopped too, his horse giving out a patient snort when he halted.

Lillian let the rest of the group continue upwards, the bridge's wooden slats creaking under the weight of so many people. She watched him for a moment without speaking.

He put his hand up to the back of his head without facing her. "We're going to be late, yeah?"

"Yeah." She said, surprising herself by sounding calm about it. "We can be a little late."

The sound of the waterfall's pulse echoed through the canyon below, and he edged his horse closer to her.

"We really can't be… Ina wouldn't appreciate it. Gotta do the right thing and go."

She turned her body to face him directly. "Make me go." She challenged, narrowing her gaze.

"Wha-? What are you talking about?" He nearly jumped back in his saddle, looking thoroughly confused. "Don't you want to go this time? Isn't there someone you want to see?"

"That's not the point."

"Then quit being difficult." He said. "We can both ride to catch up." He scooted forward and gestured for her hand. "Hop on."

She stared at the outstretched hand.

"C'mon… you're really going to stand there all day?"

Lillian shook her head lightly, shaking her chestnut hair away from her face and folded her arms across her chest.

_Make me_.

She was waiting to see him for what he was. "Now is the time to be honest with me, Kana."

He put his hand back to his side. "Alright." He said, guarded. "What is it you think I'm not being honest about?"

"Everything."

"Everything? You need to be more specific than that."

"Than answer a few questions."

What was the point of all this? He decided to indulge her for a moment, listening as the sounds of his village moved further under the canopy of distant trees. "I'll answer one or two, and then we're-"

"No. Answer everything. Or I won't go with you and you'll have to force me." She tried to keep her voice from betraying her fear that he would do exactly that without hesitation.

He grimaced. "Fine, ask." He said through gritted teeth.

"Why did you really lock my door?"

"I told you already."

"To protect the village?"

"Yes."

She mumbled something he didn't hear. She moved on to the next question. "Nori said yesterday that the farm I've been given is 'difficult'. What did she mean by it?"

"It's the least safe property in our town, after Sheng's. It makes up the perimeter and is more vulnerable to attack. It's been raided many times in the past, and it will take quite a lot of work for it to reach its true potential again."

She let that sink in, trying not to fiddle with her jacket. This was uncomfortable for her as well as it was for him, but it would be worse somehow, not to know.

"Have you been assigned as the person in charge of keeping me in Konohana? Is that why I've seen you everyday?"

His brandy brown eyes met hers and he searched her face. "Sort of."

"Sort of?" She looked down. Was she disappointed?

He rolled his hands over the reigns, eager to get going for some reason. "Yes, Ina asked me, but I would have offered anyways."

She looked up sharply. "Why?"

"Because I… well, it makes sense."

She raised an eyebrow. "Keeping someone against their will makes sense to you?"

"No! I… I was going to check on you anyways, not- argh, Nevermind. Next question!"

"Next question? You're afraid to answer?"

He glared at her.

She frowned, but changed topics. "Hiro said that…"

If she was waiting for him to prompt her she would be waiting for a very long time. She plucked up more courage and asked. "Hiro said that you came to visit me everyday when I was at the clinic."

He felt his cheeks warm up slightly. "That's right."

"Why?"

"To make sure you opened your eyes." He said easily.

She opened up her mouth but nothing came out, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to something like that.

"Can we go now? I'm going to get in trouble." He reached for her hand again, and this time she took it, letting him pull her up on his horse.

His horse huffed as if it was carrying two people too many, but started back up the path with no trouble.

Lillian sat behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders, her fingers afraid to really hold on. "Kana…" She began nervously.

There was so much more that she wanted to ask him.

_Where did you go the last few days- is this who you really are? Or was that you, last night?_

He turned his head as they passed the waterfall, leaving the bridged canyon behind them. The horse's hoof beats fell into softness on the cool earthen path below, and his long hair tickled her face when he turned to hear her better. "Yes?"

"About last night…"

He clenched the reigns in a fist and she felt his back straighten up. "I'm sorry." Was all he said.

They rode in silence the rest of the way.


	21. Chapter 21: Fear and Ambition

Chapter 21: Fear and Ambition

Mako was ahead of the group, and the first to encounter Phillip again.

He could see the tension on the young man's face as Konohana approached the summit, could feel the intense accusation of his stare. There was something else there too, that the boy probably thought he'd hidden away. Hope, and desperation.

The dark rider halted his stallion and dismounted off to the right, tying up his horse and moving on without reacting to Phillip. He wore his normal bemused expression that resembled the face of an old wily cat.

Phillip watched him pass by with his cool grey eyes, not moving an inch.

The rest of the Konohana villagers arrived shortly after, most of them indifferent to his presence.

He spent the moments it took for each one to greet the Lady Mayor trying to memorize their faces, looking for odd behavior, anything that could help him later. A few of them did glance his way discreetly; one girl with very long black hair stopped several feet away and looked over shyly.

Phillip felt his face heat up, but kept watching her.

_Nice to meet you too_, he thought.

She bowed lightly, and was ushered on by an elderly woman with a kind face.

As the villagers from the crimson side of the conflict filtered past, Phillip was struck by the lack of actual muscle they seemed to possess. Aside from Mako and that obnoxious guy Kana, no one stood out as having an affinity for conflict, let alone looking prepared to fight today.

It occurred to him that this festival may well be the keeper of hope for both sides to practice peace, that the shroud of its comforting rhythm allowed them to rebuild safety into the conflict and stability into their lives.

That, and with its rules in place there was the added convenience of not having to lift a finger to work towards peace.

He tapped his foot impatiently, thinking about it.

Where was she?

Finally, the last person strode past, a tall Doctor with short black hair and a beauty mark, the second person to look him equally in the face.

Her confidence was evident even in her posture, and he found himself walking over to her just as she was getting ready to greet Ina.

"Pardon me," He said as if he needed to get her attention. "There's someone I'm looking for, was there anyone else with your group…?"

Her dark eyes opened up in surprise. "I can't imagine who? Unless…" Her smile was sly, but not challenging.

He clenched his teeth, taking the bait. "Unless…?"

"Unless you know our Lillian." She said with a touch of sweetness.

The corner of his eye twitched slightly, and she chuckled.

She clasped her hands behind her in open relaxation. "You must be Phillip? Her brother? How are you?"

He just stared at her, not expecting the warmth. He found himself being honest despite himself. "Not well." He ended up admitting in a low voice. He looked over around the woman's tall frame.

"Is she…?"

The woman followed the path of his eyes. "Oh? She was just walking with Nori before, but I don't see Kana either. Perhaps they stopped a moment? I'm sure they'll be along."

_I don't see Kana either_.

Phillip ran his hands through his auburn hair in angry frustration.

The Doctor peered at him, then suddenly put her hand out. "I'm Ayame."

He shook it, watching her carefully. This was the enemy? "Phillip." He said, mumbling. "Obviously…"

"Well, it's a pleasure!" The woman excused herself and went into the courtyard, but the young man barely noticed her departure, his monochromatic gaze piercing the distance beyond with renewed intensity.

How long was he going to have to wait before he ended up just charging back down the Konohana side of the mountain? Did they leave guards, more big guys like before, just out of sight from the tree line?

Cam appeared at his side again as a large sepia horse came clipping over the hill at a trot, bearing a single rider.

Kana.

Even as he listened to the cadence of hooves on dirt road, Phillip's heart stopped beating.

Just then a little chestnut head appeared around the rider's back. "Are we here? I can't see anything!"

There were two people on the horse!

His heart kickstarted violently. She was okay… she was alive…

"Lillian." He said, a terrible weight lifting from his chest. He raised his voice, not realizing his throat had become this dry. "Lillian!" He called.

Her Lilac eyes, bright in the sun, dashed over to him. "Phillip!" She exclaimed so loudly Kana's ears rang.

"Get over here!" Phillip had to resist the urge to stomp his foot petulantly, but the anxiety that laced his voice was enough.

Kana stayed in the saddle while she slid down from behind, her brother already there and enveloping her in his arms. "My God is it good to see you." He admitted into her hair.

She didn't say anything. He felt tears on his shoulder and her hug was tight- but for the moment it didn't seem terribly important to breathe anyways.

Kana's hands gripped the reigns in a fist after he dismounted, but he took his old mare over to the side to tie it up, ignoring- whatever emotion this was. A part of him wanted to let them have the moment, the other part felt… well it didn't matter. Bringing her here was the right decision.

Watching the two together made him sure of it. No matter how hard it was for him to watch.

"I love you so much," Phillip said fiercely, before loosening the hug.

There was a pause, and through her tears, Lillian started to laugh. "Then try not to launch me out of any more pony carts, you dummy."

His eyes went wide. "That's not fair, you know I -" And he stopped at the expression on her face.

She looked so very happy, her bright eyes still swimming with emotion. She was not good at saying her feelings, so he could tell this was an effort on her part to keep herself together.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well you were the navigator." He accused. "You should've just… navigated us around it. Then I wouldn't have had to speed up like that-"

"What? Says the one leading the poor animal all over that dangerous road. How dare you!"

He laughed. "It doesn't matter who did what."

And his tone changed instantly, sobering. "Are you…okay?" He glanced over to where Kana stood looking on with his arms crossed, his horse nuzzling his pockets looking for treats.

Lillian shrugged. "Are you?"

He smiled a little. "Good point."

"I heard you had a hard time, though. But I didn't know what it meant…?"

She blinked. "Who did you-" But from the way her brother was looking over at the hitching post, she could hazard a guess. "Did Kana tell you something?"

"Not much. That guy is useless."

Her voice rose a little. "When did you talk to Kana?"

"Why, what happened?"

"Well- I just woke up, so I…"

"Just woke up from what?"

She looked down. "I guess they… found me near the river, unconscious. Well, Kana did, really. I only woke up a little over two days ago. I was in their clinic this whole time." She shrugged at the end of her speech as if she was over it and not worried.

Which of course was going to cause him more worry later.

The whole thing took a minute to sink in completely, but it explained her paler-than-usual skin color.

He watched Kana again, trying to get a read on his actual role in it. It explained why he was being so possessive. He reached out and gave her another small hug. "I'm sorry, Lil."

"Thanks," She said. "It's okay now, really."

He held her shoulders out at arm's length. "No, it isn't! Does anything still hurt from that?" He moved her hair from her face and looked at her carefully, searchingly. He turned her head side to side. "You've always been the clumsy one, so if-"

She waved him off. "I'm fine … just a bit tired…" Then what he said last registered in her mind. "Hey!"

"Alright, alright, it is true, though."

"W- well if I have to be clumsy than you can be the one with terrible instincts- who speeds up to clear an obstruction?!"

He pinched her cheeks and she slapped his arm. "Stop it!"

He laughed. "Looks like you're not doing too badly after all."

"Whatever!" She huffed.

Kana walked over then, and Phillip's whole demeanor changed from relaxed to irritated. Lillian was just looked at him and mouthed_ what's wrong with you?_

But he was ignoring her by then, looking over her shoulder. "Kana, was it?"

Kana stopped and addressed to the two. "I think the contest is about to begin. Let's go in, yeah?"

Phillip made a face. What kind of motivational speech was 'yeah?' He wondered if that supposed to make them feel like participating.

Lillian looked back and forth for a moment. "Kana, this is my-"

"We've met." Kana cut her off.

"Okay…" There was irritation in her voice now, too. "And Phillip, you've met my watchdog, Kana."

Kana sighed, a little too dramatically for her taste, and just scratched his head as if he wasn't listening.

_He's such a bad actor_, mused Phillip, before nodding at the other guy. "I see they allow patrolmen to keep their word on that side of the mountain. It's a good sign."

"Yeah. It's very exciting." The taller guy said with complete apathy. "Don't forget the rest of what we discussed. Lillian, you ready?"

Lillian looked over her shoulder to where Kana stood. "Nope!" She said, smiling roguishly. We're just getting started here I think."

Kana recognized the same tone she had used earlier on the bridge.

_Make me go_…

He decided to wait a while longer. She was just getting back at him for the last few days and he didn't really want to make a scene now, when she finally looked happy. Come to think of it, she hadn't looked this at peace, even when she had been asleep in the clinic.

Her smile became more genuine when she realized she could trust him this much, not to press the issue and embarrass himself. For all his brashness, there was a bit of common sense after all.

Lillian suddenly realized there was another person standing with them this whole time. Not that she had been paying close attention to her surroundings.

The guy was probably just a bit older than the twins, and wore tidy clothing in an impeccably loose way; his long grey shirt was unbuttoned lazily at the collar and untucked from his navy slacks, and decorated by a long thin faint yellow tie with a low, tight knot that smacked of intentional half-dressing. He had unusual taste, and wore an orchid-colored vest that matched his hat in hounds tooth pattern with alternating shades of plum and violet.

She couldn't tell if the expression on his face was more of a smile or a frown, and before she caught herself she realized she had begun to stare at him.

He realized at the same time too, and orbs the color of clear emeralds shifted to her with curiosity.

Maybe he just joined the group and she hadn't noticed him in her excitement. Either way, she knew Phillip didn't usually have striking older friends to hang out with: she would have paid more attention to his friendships.

"Are you going to introduce me?" She asked Phillip, flipping her hair impatiently. "There's a festival going on if you haven't noticed and we don't have all day."

"Oh, right! I have a watchdog too. This is Cam."

_Such a simple explanation_… She thought. _That wasn't very helpful_. For a second she felt like staying for the festival to find out more about him, which was absurd. She wondered if he was always at these things, or if being responsible for Phillip was the reason he was here today.

If Cam cared about his new nickname he didn't show it. A cordial smile was in his eyes more than his lips and he tipped his hat to her. "Nice to meet you. Do you come here often?" He asked.

Lillian started giggling and nearly snorted, not able to help herself. Was he serious? "That was corny!" She told him.

"Was it? Sorry about that." He shrugged, chuckling, hands in his pockets. "Anyway nice to meet you…"

Phillip eyed him suspiciously. "Don't get any ideas." He said under his breath.

Cam's eyes lit up at that. "I try to never have ideas about anything important." He replied.

The tall Bluebeller locked eyes with Kana for a moment. "How are you today, Kana?"

Lillian got the impression that Cam couldn't care less about how Kana was doing.

"Looking forward to taking back what belongs to us." Kana said cryptically.

Cam strode forward, putting the twins behind him. Leaning in close to Kana he said, "Now, I wonder what you really mean by that." Kana kept his arms folded over his chest. "Surely you're only discussing the territory over the summit. If you're talking about"- ahem- "people, then it's only fair to warn you that I will be the first to stand in your way."

"Get out of my face." The other barked. "You'll have a hard time keeping anything we want from us. There's no muscle in Bluebell anymore. The only reason we don't just take your little town over is because we don't need it for anything."

The tall blond guy kept his hands in his pockets for the whole exchange as if he were completely relaxed. He could have been talking to an old friend even, from how calm he sounded. "Well, that's a relief. I'll be able to sleep better knowing your lack of ambition is what keeps you from walking more than a few feet from your doorstep, and not your abject fear of what would happen to your town should you act rashly."

It was safe to say that Kana had an issue with his impulsive temper, in that he instantaneously shot his leg out into Cam's kneecap.

Cam twisted to the side at the last second, evading it. "That's right." He said. "Face your fears, Kana. Because we're not going to back down and we're ready for you any time you feel like making a visit. Just be sure to come by my shop later on for the floral arrangements."

Kana nearly snapped at that, and came out swinging. He threw a right hook that was sidestepped, and finally connected with the back of his fist against the other's temple.

Cam staggered backwards, but shot his arms upward, catching the fist as it returned. In a swift motion he twisted Kana's arm backwards- but the larger guy just pulled, getting out of it swiftly.

The two stood back for a moment, looking each other over.

Both were breathing hard, Kana moreso as he was more used to training with a mount than on the ground. The florist (who finally had to take his hands out of his pockets) was more adept at hand to hand combat than with weapons or animals. He stretched his arms over his head, bored of the game. "Well, that was fun. I'm going in now."

He looked over at Phillip as if to ask something, then merely walked away as if nothing had happened.

Lillian watched him go, bemused. "He's kind of weird, huh?" She asked Phillip, who tilted his head in thought.

She turned to Kana, then, who wore an intense frown on his handsomely tanned features. "You alright?" She felt the need to ask.

He didn't say anything.

Fine, whatever…! "Okay, I'm ready to go inside." She announced, making her way to Ina. Ina had her hands on her hips and she looked on confidently, not noticing the girl at first. "Good to see so much energy in the young generation!" She commented as Lil decided just to walk right past and not talk back.

Phillip followed on the Rutger side (who had watched the episode with a wrinkled foreheadl), wondering why Lil had gone into the festival. Didn't she know that now was the chance to leave- before it finished?

Unless they were still so alike that they were starting to agree about this place?

He didn't want to get his hopes up though, she was probably just being absent-minded and was escaping the tense atmosphere that floated just under the bright, cloudless sky outside the courtyard.

Kana stood outside for a moment before stalking in to join his side, saying nothing else.


	22. Chapter 22: The Cooking Thingy

This was Lillian's first time seeing the breathtaking view of the summit, and she was entranced- forgetting all about the competition and people around her. She ran right over to the edge and stared over it not hearing the opening arguments from the mayors.

After a few moments there was loud cheering and she turned to see a midget with in tall purple top hat stride purposefully to the front of the crowd. He had spiky gold-blond hair sticking out from the bottom of his hat and a long showy coat with a bright red bowtie. It looked like the sort of hat that already had hair attached and she was forced to suppress a giggle.

Was there some kind of circus act…?

She waited for a moment in case more performers came by- unicyclists were her favorite- and finally was forced to accept the fact that this was actually in the guy's everyday wardrobe. She didn't know whether she should be amused or disappointed.

_Special guest judge, huh? _

To the man's credit had had a kind face and seemed to be very confident in front of the crowd as he said he couldn't wait to sample everyone's cooking this time.

She came back with reluctance from the expansive overlook, where rivers winded and trees of young green raiment reached out thirsty for the sunlight. As she walked back to the event she noticed the several yards of space that each village put in the middle of the courtyard so they didn't have to be close to each other.

For some reason it made her feel like she was in kindergarten again.

She, being the stubborn creature that she was, decided to stand directly in the middle of the rift, alone. She put a hand on her hip and waited patiently.

Taking her cue, Phillip met her in the middle and took her hand. She squeezed his appreciatively, and then leaned over. "Doesn't it look like that hat comes with the hair attached? Do you think he's like, bald under that or something?"

Phillip snorted despite himself as he pictured it. "It probably just makes him a foot taller." He reasoned sensibly.

Kana was standing near Nori when he saw the two, standing in the middle ostentatiously and sharing a private joke. Before he realized he was talking out loud, he'd said quietly, "She really loves him, huh?"

Nori smiled warmly while they watched them together. "It sure seems that way."

…

As the contest got started there was plenty of time to talk, and the twins drank up the time they had with each other, sharing their experiences of the past week. Albeit, Phillip had a whole lot more to say than his sister on the subject.

It was weird. Usually they experienced everything at the same time because they weren't separated for more than a few hours at a time. Even when working at the same places they'd have similar schedules and experiences, and at most there'd only been a few hours to catch up on.

When staying at the Inn, they'd shared a bed even because it saved on capitol and made sense. Even sleeping alone was difficult. For Lil, she had been too tired to notice the difference, but she was looking forward to have her brother by her side again later, knowing that if she were alone and didn't hear the cadence of his breathing, she'd not be able to fall asleep. For Phillip- he had been making due and already had started getting used to the idea.

The feeling of having separate experiences was sort of refreshing, but also annoying at the same time. It would be so much easier if they had already done the same things, so they didn't have to explain it later. This annoyed Lillian far more than her brother as she tended to be clingier (and more bossy than him, if she were willing to admit it).

Eventually they'd caught up on the important stuff, and were on to the topic of the farms they'd each been 'given'.

Her brother's grey eyes filled with life and he became animated, talking about it. It was fun for her to watch. This was especially true since he'd frowned so often after they left the homeless shelter and starting taking more risks. She had done the planning, and so was usually satisfied that they were going to survive for another few days. Phillip on the other hand followed most of her plans, but had appointed himself responsible for their safety, so he constantly was analyzing and over-thinking whenever they went somewhere new, only to change his mind last minute on an impulse.

The situation they'd found themselves in here couldn't be planned for, but maybe it was a relief for him to be able to focus on one or two things for once. At least, in the midst of the twin villages, they had ample supplies of provisions and a roof over their heads.

She watched him talk in animation about the town, the mayor there, and all the animals he had seen. Even the fact that they'd just given him a cow to start out with had him elated. He leaned over enthusiastically, eyebrows raised. "I get three eggs and a liter of fresh milk every morning. If I sell it, it comes to several hundred gold."

That got her attention. "Per day?" She gasped.

He nodded and grinned without restraint, his warm auburn hair falling in small locks over his eyes.

Their job at the inn had earned them a few hundred gold a week. Together. It had come down to just enough left over from expenses to buy a little bit of flour and the occasional piece of fruit. Most days they were fed by leftovers from the kitchen that should have been thrown out. They had saved about 150 gold a week for months to rent their pony and buy the used, beat up cart that got them here. She couldn't believe her ears.

"If I sell them. What kind of animals do you have there?" She could hear the excitement in his voice.

"Kono… they focus on crops, there's only pets in the animal shop. I have a barn, but nothing to put in it." She felt jealous, she wanted fresh milk too. She'd never had it fresh, and could count on her hand the number of times they could afford more than dry milk. It sounded like the best thing in the entire world, especially to someone who knew what starving felt like.

"The chickens are nice, easy to maintain. I wonder if we can get you one?" He asked, almost to himself.

"Please, they wouldn't sell to an outsider." She scoffed, waving her hand.

He shrugged and tugged open his thick khaki jacket, placing his hands on his hips. "They sold one to me."

…

Later on the topic shifted, Pierre had a few dishes left to sample, and the twins were discussing their 'babysitters'.

"I think I got better end of that deal." Phillip said. He glanced over at Kana, standing close to his side and talking to a petit girl who looked like she had a horrible attitude. "That guy wants to take you back to Konohana after this no matter what. By force."

She nodded, narrowing her eyes. "I know he does." Then the hint of a smile brightened her face whole she peered over the imaginary line at the reds. "So, what's the plan?"

He regarded her for a moment and repeated, "Plan?"

"Yeah. How are we getting out of here? We can exploit the fact that the scrimmage line moves, and slip away when they declare which side wins, that way if we get caught we can align with the better side until we get another chance."

Her eyes were dancing with anticipation, and Phillip didn't say anything. He loved seeing her like this, even escape was an adventure to her and it was enlivening. She had already started, in just the few days she had been awake, to make far more plans in her mind than he would have ever tried to.

He was an opportunist, through and through.

Should they follow one of those plans, or take this one on his instinct?

She stopped talking, sensing his indecision. She got really close to his face, frowning at him.

"Whaaaat?" He asked, finally.

"You're not making eye contact." She accused.

"So?"

"So you don't… do you not agree?" Her voice dropped into something more serious. "Do you… actually want to wait, or to… stay here? What are you thinking?"

He shuffled his foot on the ground, trying to find a way to answer without saying too much. "I don't know what it was like for you." He began, "But I hated being apart, for even a moment. So I don't want you to think that this is because I'm fine being apart, but-"

"Oh." She took a step back involuntarily from him. "You- you do want to stay."

He hated the way she had said it, in a quiet whisper as if she was going to be betrayed.

"I didn't _say_ that." He responded, incensed.

She took a deep breath and put her hand to her temple as if she could divine what he was thinking. "Okay. I didn't mean to interrupt you. Please tell me what you were going to say."

Her calm expression was somehow worse than yelling. She was bracing herself for the horrible news that he didn't feel the same way. But they had agreed to always be honest with each other, no matter what. Even if that honesty meant something horrible to one of them.

"Have you seen these people, really looked at them? I know you've only been awake a little while, but what did they make you feel?"

She snorted. "'Make me feel'? Let's see? In order, that would be; Surprised, overwhelmed, ignored, scared, irritated, violently angry, and now there's something like derision." She was sarcastic. "What about you? Daisies and roses?"

His mind flicked back to the bright green shoots just now poking out of the dirt in front of the chicken yard and he resisted the urge to laugh. It would be rude- she wouldn't understand the joke anyways. "Daisies and roses aren't emotions." He hedged. Besides, those were carnations he had growing back there.

"Phillip." She said, waiting.

"Lillian." He countered.

"Ugh. Quit worrying already about how I'll take it. You can't protect me all the time anyways, _obviously_. And you agreed we'd always tell the truth. Other people we can lie to, but never to each other." She folded her arms over her chest. "Are you saying you want to stay?"

"Well, not exactly."

"Then what exactly?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but these people are all jumping at shadows."

"That's because _they_ are all crazy." She said under her breath.

He stopped talking, "What?"

"Nothing." She raised her eyebrows innocently. "Please continue."

"Okay." He said patiently. "So they all have lost loved ones and remain angry, but nobody really wants to fight anymore. Have you noticed that? Don't they seem"-what was the word- "Exhausted with it all? Like they're giving up on each other, on being happy?"

A look of sheer panic crossed her face for a second before she could recover. "You want to fix them." It sank in and she suddenly didn't feel like continuing the conversation any longer.

"Lil-" He reached out to her and she shook her head. "You're an idiot. When we had to work this hard just to get to meet once in the middle of a mountaintop on an appointed day, under close guard."

He closed his eyes, hating the sound of her being frightened. But there was something that tugged him, like an invisible string, and he couldn't explain the pull.

"I mean, what if we never get to see each other again?" She hissed.

His voice was firm. "That won't happen. I won't let something like that happen."

She felt her eyes well up and it made her angry. "I don't- I can't talk about this right now."

While they were talking the bluebell competitors were waiting for Pierre to judge their dishes, and everyone looked eagerly on from both sides. Some small conversations were happening here and there.

The day was glorious- the sun was golden and the sky bright without clouds- and despite their quarrel, Phillip couldn't resist enjoying it. He looked over to Lil, who was still upset and hadn't said anything for awhile now. He sighed. Couldn't she see this place for what it was? After all the small towns with small dreams and big cities where everyone was full of themselves, couldn't she see these people struggling to make a better life?

Maybe she would see it that way in time.

The sun warmed his face. The silence wasn't so bad right now.

One small, petit girl walked over to the twins cautiously. Her hair was long and very dark as it fluttered behind her, and her blush and cherry pink yukata swayed in the breeze as she moved.

"Excuse me?" She said, and shrank back a bit at the way Lillian whirled around in surprise.

The girl could see water in the other's eyes, and hesitated a moment to speak. "I wanted to tell you… I finished your needlepoint."

She looked over at the auburn-crowned boy and bowed lightly in greeting, her small hands folded over her chest.

He smiled lightly out of habit. "Hi."

She returned it furtively. "Are you…?"

Lillian held her hand out towards him. "Nori, this is Phillip, my brother." She confirmed, her voice still belaying her aggravation with him.

Nori nodded and pushed a strand of raven hair out of her ivory face. "Glad to see you both are together." She discreetly pulled a folded cloth from her sleeve and handed it to Lillian. She leaned over towards her and said under her breath, "You may want to give it to him privately, later."

"Privately?" He asked without thinking.

The girl just looked at him. "It's something… that I have to ask you to be careful with. I'm giving it to Lillian because, well I guess because she'll know if you need it or not in the future. But please, please treat the information with care. If you need help and it won't harm anyone, I'll be right above the river, northeast."

Phillip absorbed the news quietly, not drawing attention to it. It seemed like she felt she was taking a risk in just walking over. "Until next time, then." He said.

The girl nodded again and went to rejoin her side of the mountain, getting ready for her side to present their entries.

The two turned back to one another, their argument still on hold.

"Should I ask what that is?" He was quiet.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I doubt you'll use it anyways."

He inclined his head. "Your friend seems nice."

Her expression darkened and her brows furrowed. "Everyone over there seems nice. It's their actions you gotta watch out for."

"Um, okay. So tell me this- what is it that worries you about staying?"

She pressed her lips together. How likely was it that someone was going to lock her in again? What if someone did die again and the villages went on lock down, back into a full-on–feud? It seemed like it had taken the twin villages forever to get to this point, even though there hadn't been a death in what, four or five years?

Her brother took a step closer and leaned over, interrupting her thoughts. "But you have to tell me- will you be safe around them? If you don't feel safe, then I don't care about my idea to stay. I"ll leave with you, whenever you're ready." There was a note of hope in his voice that it wouldn't come to that, and she inwardly cringed.

She didn't meet his eyes for a moment.

"Lil." He said, getting her attention.

She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut before finally looking up.

"You know I will, right?"

How could she deny him something he wanted to do out of the goodness of his heart? For her selfish need to be coddled? They never spent time apart; maybe an experience like this would strengthen them, as individuals.

She opened her mouth to speak, and quickly shut it again.

That sounded like another horrible idea though. They didn't need to be individuals- they were blessed with duality and the gift of always having a confidant to support them. Who would want to throw that away and make things harder for no reason?

Except, there was a reason.

_Dammit_.

Finally, she found herself nodding, slowly giving in.

"How about, we give it a week?" She proposed cautiously.

His eyes lit up slightly. "Really? You'll try? Honestly Lil, I think you'll start to like it too-"

"But we have to meet somehow, everyday."

He stopped for a second, then nodded. "Okay. What time?"

"Between noon and 2pm. At the scrimmage line."

"Bring our babysitters?" He asked with a smile.

"Or die trying." She agreed.

He kept a grin on his face. He got to eat well for another week this way. "I'll bring you some fresh milk tomorrow." He promised.

She might start to like the idea of staying, just for that. The nagging fear still persisted, but she kept it locked away so that he could have his moment. She knew that if either village really wanted them under power they wouldn't have let them participate in the festival like this, at least not right away. There may be hope for these people yet.

But would they be able- every day…?

"Let's go talk to our watchdogs." She suggested.

He chuckled. "Like what they want matters. Does that Kana have a business or anything?"

She nodded. "He runs an animal shop."

"And he has to leave it, to patrol or watch over you?" He guessed.

She nodded again, more slowly this time. "So you mean…"

"Exactly. They can't keep closing their businesses to watch us. Pretty soon they'll be forced to trust us with everything. You'll see."

She watched him, he looked so self-satisfied with his analysis. True, he was better at reading people than she was, but his smug look was irritating.

"I guess…" She started.

"Yeah?" He looked over again, not a cloud on his face.

He looked too happy to be separated from her again. She frowned. "I trust you. I mean, I think you're right about them." She handed the folded cloth over to him. "Hide this right away. Nori made it… in case I don't make one of our meetings, so you know where I'll be."

He tucked it away, a sharp look of alarm on his face now. "Why wouldn't you make-"

"Just. In case. I don't think they'll lock me up again. But they did, in the beginning." She said pointedly.

He eyes went dark. "Same for me, then. Although I think Cam would stop them the next time, but I may be trusting him too much. Still… he was the one that risked everything to help me get to meet Kana and Mako. And he was the one that went to the mountain everyday when I couldn't, to find you."

She glanced over to the blue line and was easily able to pick out the guy in the houndstooth hat. He was chatting quietly with a pretty blond girl and didn't see her staring again. Was there a reason for his altruism? Unless it was similar to what had happened with Nori. She found herself hoping fervently that Phillip had a true friend in all of this, too.

"So if you make it to Bluebell on your own for some reason, find Cam first. When they first took me off the mountain, I was in the cellar of the café for three days. He knows where that is if I end up there again."

She gasped. _Three days_… A shiver ran up her back. "I really would have died." She whispered. "Were you… okay there?"

He raised an eyebrow and narrowed his stony eyes and she knew the next thing out of his mouth was going to be sarcastic. "Nevermind, I get it!" She stopped him. "At least… you're okay now. I'm glad."

…

The festival concluded without further incident, and Lillian and Phillip spent the rest of their time together catching up and planning. Lillian did the planning mostly, while Phillip just nodded as if he was going to remember it all later, which both of them knew was not going to happen.

Eventually the announcement came that Konohana had won this time (Nori looked incredibly happy) and the villages were dismissed from the contest, cheering and making faces at each other as they started to leave.

To the twins surprise, the occasional shoe was thrown across the gap at somebody who was celebrating too loudly. The atmosphere became tense again, just like when they had arrived, and they found themselves quickly evacuating before there was a riot.

For their part, the mayors worked to calm their people down (telling everyone to save it for next week), and the courtyard was cleared out without anything worse happening.

…

The twins stopped just outside of the floral archway into the courtyard, their respective watchdogs coming to heel shortly after.

Lillian drew her brother up into a long final embrace, working the fear out of her features when he couldn't see her. By the time they withdrew she had composed herself and backed away, regarding him.

She wanted to say so much, but they had promised to see each other tomorrow. She found herself taking a step towards Cam, and looking him full on in the face. "I'm going to trust you with him, okay?"

Cam looked surprised at this, but smiled in that easy way of his. "Leave everything to me." He said, returning her confidence with his own.

Phillip was rolling his eyes just as he noticed the well-built horseman approach him.

_What do you want?_ He thought, aggravated again.

Kana extended his hand to Phillip as a show of good faith. "I kept my promise, now it's time for you to keep yours. Between you and I, truce?" He asked as if he couldn't believe he was offering it.

Phillip reached out and easily took the other's hand. "Truce," He confirmed, then he gripped the older guy's hand tightly in his and pulled, throwing Kana off balance for a second before letting go. "But I never promised you anything." He said.

"What the heck, man?!" Kana exclaimed, offended and rubbing his hand.

Phillip just walked away, waving his hand as a means of dismissal. He rejoined the Bluebell side as they filtered past and met his sister's gaze evenly from across the unspoken rift of the two towns.

She smiled at him and nodded, an energy sparking in her that she hadn't felt in a very long time. Even at a distance, they would handle this together, and come out on top.

She wouldn't have believed for a second that she's end up feeling at all excited to stay here if someone told her so yesterday. Maybe it was her brother's energy and determination that urged her forward. Maybe it was that they had always been running from everything, afraid to face reality. She felt like in the last several years, they had never been able to win at anything. Maybe it was the chance they had to finally come out on top.

More likely it was the idea that, with so much loss in everyone's lives, they could actually build a family here, amongst people that knew what it was like to lose. As if they could all support one another.

And if it all went south, they could take the money they were saving and move on.

It was the perfect plan, as long as no one snuck over and locked her door again. She shivered a little, remembering. _This time will be different_, she told herself solemnly.

But if Phillip's intuition about these people was right, then they were ripe for change.

And knowing her brother, he hadn't even thought that far ahead.


	23. Chapter 23: A New Beginning

Kana rode back to Konohana ahead of the group, taking the point position from Mako this time.

He wanted to be alone with his thoughts, and with Hayate, who carried herself at a steady reliability, allowing him to relax entirely even as he led her down the sodden mountain pathway.

He didn't know why the events of the recent week were getting under his skin like this. Not much normally happened to break the monotony of the village's daily rhythms, and Kana was willing to bet a bucket of feed that the excitement of having a new girl in town was all this was.

He wasn't the sort of guy to just fall helplessly into anything, let alone something as serious as love.

Of course, Lillian was likable, but that didn't mean Kana liked her.

So then, why had he felt so busted up when she had been embraced? It's what anyone would've expected her to do- having been kept apart as she was from her 'friend'.

Still, to see the tenderness in which that little nuisance had held her, to see her tears in his arms had been undeniably hard to watch.

Of course she wanted to see this guy, they had been traveling together and separated. They were probably just friends going somewhere on vacation. Kids their age were far too young to have any serious relationships.

Even for friends, that was an awfully telling reunion to witness.

_"I love you so much," Phillip had said._

_Lillian hadn't replied back._

How did she feel?

For some reason he thought he'd need to go on a long ride tonight, to chase those words out of his mind.

He resolved to post a request on the message board later in case anyone wanted to provide him a snack.

With the Full moon out in an endless sky and his best girl along for the ride it should be an amazing night, after all.

…

The days began to move in succinct rhythm, after that first festival. Lillian and Phillip both set about getting to know their new homes with a renewed determination, eager to prove themselves and see who could save more money than the other.

Nori made it a point to stop by and see Lillian after tending to her grandfather's crops in the mornings, and occasionally visited to teach her a few things about raising the different crops she could purchase. She spent time in the afternoons teaching her how to handfish and sew, so it was a time of quiet reflection for the new farm girl, who was quickly feeling like she'd stepped into some alternate dimension.

The two twins had managed to make it to their meetings with minimal complications (the walk was a lot longer than Lillian could have anticipated because Konohana had expanded territory now) but Nori went with her when Kana couldn't so the time passed without further confrontation.

As for Kana and Lillian, they rarely spoke to each other, even during the early afternoons when he was assigned as her escort. They settled into a comfortable silence after a while and said nothing unessesary, greeting and parting in a few words.

Lillian felt better about this, as impersonal greetings were all she was really used to. For Kana, who was the type to be congenial and hold conversations easily it was a complete loss and he had no idea, after the first few exchanges, of what to say.

Those times he stayed stoically with Hayate, or continued walking the forest's dirt roads nearby, to give the two privacy while they met.

Cam joined them at first for lunch, but often would scoot away to pick fresh herbs for Laney and Jessica's weird cheese-making requests, but the twins knew that he too was giving them time together, and they appreciated it.

The tension between Cam and Kana didn't go away, but aside from Cam shooting looks of superiority across the line and Kana laughing whenever someone said something good about Bluebell, nothing became worse (although it was funny to the twins, who'd never had the occasion to hold grudges for a long time like this).

By the next Saturday the field over at Lillian's Farm (which she had aptly named Falling Petal Fields) was over halfway planted, with every spare cent going into turnip seeds that should be shippable right before Tuesday- the day of the next cooking festival. She spent as much time foraging as possible after caring for her seeds, and the shipping bin was full at the end of each day with everything from stones to wildflowers.

The one topic that the twins didn't bring up to each other again was when they were going to leave. Phillip knew his sister well enough to see that she was biding her time, counting the seconds until she harvested her turnips and was able to rent another pony for them. For her, she was waiting for Phillip to see how useless the idea of everyone here getting along was, so that the minute he admitted he was in over his head she could guide him to the exit. Every time they arrived for their picnic lunch and he tried in vain to get both sides to eat together she knew they saw through it. Couldn't he realize that it was never going to happen?

Hadn't the story of their entire lives been that you can't fight against fate? Well it was clearly the fate of these people to live with their mistakes and pay for their own crimes; she and her brother had no business butting in.

Knowing what he would think of her assessment of his chances, she kept her mouth shut.

And the week passed, as fast as it had arrived.

…

A small change came when Lillian headed out on Sunday, having spent the morning sleeping in because of the deluge that was soaking everything outside.

It began when a knock sounded at the yellow door of her little thatched cottage and she got up, having been awake for a while now anyways. She wasn't surprised to see Nori, but as the local girl with delicate porcelain skin tread past she saw that someone else was with her.

It was a young man, petit and with kind eyes, whose small shoulders were going to carry the responsibility of many lives one day.

Nurse Hiro was with her.

Smiling uncertainly, Lillian let them both in from the rain and put some water on.

"Good morning, Lillian!" Nori chimed in her upbeat way. "They've been wondering about you at the clinic, and since not much is going on in this weather, I figured you wouldn't mind a visit. This way you don't have to walk in the rain. You don't have an umbrella, right?"

"…Right." She replied back. There was something off about Nori's speech, but she couldn't place what it was. It wasn't like the girl to talk about so much at once, for one thing.

Her eyes shifted to the little nurse who she had thought looked like a girl last week. Seeing him now, there was a determined expression hidden behind his eyes.

Her hand tightened up at her side to pull on the fabric of her caramel-colored overskirt.

What now?

Hiro bowed politely in her doorway and closed the door, the sound of silence overtaking the relentless drumming from the downpour outside.

"Did you want to sit down?" Lillian offered.

"I didn't wish to impose."

She shook her head. "It's not an impose… impozat… it's not a problem." She stuttered.

Nori looked at her. "Are you okay?"

An unnatural grin formed on her face. "I'm fine… just fine."

Hiro walked over to her with imploring eyes. "Please don't be nervous around me." He said.

"Well, okay. But you should go ahead and say what you came to say, without being nervous either."

He blinked. "How did you-"

"You don't have the look of someone who really wants to be here." Her voice was wary, but she spoke as if it were obvious. "You can go ahead and say what you need to." She didn't meet his eyes. "I think I can hear it, now."

Nori rose from her demure sitting position and reached out, but became stuck that way when she realized that she had no idea what Lillian was talking about. She sat down, confused.

He frowned, his boyish face crinkling unnaturally. "Pardon me, but I'm only here to apologize. I was rude to you the other day." He looked over to Nori, who nodded in encouragement. He offered a bow. "I wasn't thinking clearly about what you were going through. As a nurse who is striving to become a Doctor, I believe I may have… let you down. I didn't listen to my precious patient."

Lillian's lilac eyes met his of chocolate brown and she was struck by his sincerity, but it didn't explain anything. "You were right, you know." She said after a moment had passed, looking at his still-slightly bowed tussled head.

He blinked again and leaned forward as if he hadn't heard correctly. "I-I'm sorry, what did you say?"

She sank down at the table, all the nervousness going out of her at once. "Just sit down, Hiro. It's okay already."

Wide-eyed, he went to sit between the two girls.

"I thought…" There was embarrassment on her face as she spoke. "I thought you were going to tell me I'm healthy enough to join the Konohana army now."

Nori stifled a giggle, and the new girl sharply aimed a glare at her. Lillian continued slowly as Nori hid her smirk behind a delicate hand and shifted her gaze back to the nurse. "About the mountain, you were right. I wasn't looking out for myself. I was very exhausted that day, and if Kana and them hadn't taken me back, who knows what would've happened. Really, thank you for caring in your own way."

He nodded and sighed, placing a hand over his chest. "That's a relief. I was worried that you were beginning to think me not a gentleman." He clenched his fist. "Please believe me, Lillian, I would not have caused you stress unduly!"

It was Lillian's turns to giggle nervously at that. "Why do you talk that way?"

His face was innocent. "By which do you mean?"

_Huh?_

"Which what?" She asked, becoming confused herself. "What are you talking about?"

"Well which way of course."

She just stared at him, and decided not to say anything, trying to make sense of it.

He noticed her staring and a light blush snuck stealthily over his cheeks.

"Nevermind, thank you for coming by. I'm glad I'm not-"Nori looked on with anticipation and Lillian smiled shyly- "Joining the… army, or whatever."

He nodded. "It was my pleasure. So then, you accept my apology?"

She nodded, not wanting to start another line of comedic conversation.

"Good!"

The three finished their tea and stayed talking for a while, and before she realized what was happening, she had started to feel comfortable… as if she could belong. And without her awareness, she began to make another friend.

It would still be quite a while before she realized that that's what was happening, but that evening she went to bed feeling safe for the first time in a long while, not realizing that the warmth in her heart was from the mutual affection of human kindness.

She slept soundly that night.


	24. Chapter 24: Monday on the mountain

The next morning was gold with streaks of sunlight rising from over the banks of the surrounding trees to infiltrate the mist of another dusky dawn. As the birds woke and began to sing the air became filled to overflowing with early spring music, and Lillian jumped awake with a start.

She got up from bed (standing up a little bit too fast which made her light headed), then ambled noiselessly over to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. In opening the window she woke immediately- the melodies that were playing out all around her- cascading in and out amongst the surrounding dense forest- gave her pause with their heartrending beauty.

She ate a small serving of the herb salad she and Nori had made the other day with a glass of water, checked the calendar-nothing unusual today-tugged on her blue and gold jacket and headed for the fields.

Darting indigo tree swallows had nested in one of the oaks, and Lillian paused for a moment to watch them, green watering can full in hand. Their heads were crested with the most deep iridescent blue she'd ever seen in the natural world, and as they flew expertly in steep dives and sharp angles catching small insects that had been stirred by the sunrise, there was a twinge of envy in her heart.

She finished the morning watering and headed down the path into the heart of the village, not glancing over her shoulder as she passed Kana's animals. She wondered how he was doing absentmindedly and if he was her escort today, but thought maybe she'd sneak off with Nori early instead.

When she checked the message board there wasn't much to do for anyone, so she stopped in at the teahouse and bid a good morning to Yun and her granddaughter. It turned out that little Ying was wanting to send flowers to someone, so while she was meeting her brother, the new girl offered to gather some fresh chamomile. If there was any left over, Yun could use it for tea. Yun made sure to promise Lillian a reward for her efforts, but the girl didn't know if she wanted to be paid back.

She smiled and waved goodbye to the both of them, heading off to the rest of the town.

It was still so surreal here. Every bit the paradise she and her brother had been seeking- but she couldn't help but wonder how long it could last for. Phillip had said it correctly (like he usually did): the people here were ripe for change.

It made her sad to think that after they'd left, this place would not stay the same. For some reason, she wanted to see that change he was talking about first-hand. The feeling confused her- she'd usually want to leave a place and never go back to it. The places that she and Phillip had been to belonged to their past, she didn't want to go back to those memories and relive them.

Not for anything.

Those places were immortalized exactly in a time that was not to be repeated.

So what was so special about this place, that she wanted it to evolve?

As she walked she started to understand her brother a little more. Despite the circumstances, this mountain was a sacred isle of exquisite beauty- full of light and life and hope.

The clear river that ran almost soundlessly through the center of Konohana always drew a few people for line fishing, and Nori could be seen not far away after completing her chores.

Lillian stepped energetically over to the thin, raven haired young woman.

"How's it going?" She greeted.

Nori smiled her demure smile and continued pondering the river. "I'm alright."

"Just alright?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well fancy that. Here I was going to offer you some of Yun's freshly brewed Buckwheat tea, but it turns out that you're alright and don't need anything."

Nori turned to see Lillian holding two steaming teacups, pantomiming drinking it all by herself and laughed.

"Well I wouldn't want to take it from you if you're that thirsty." She said, sincere.

"Oh shush and just have some!" Lillian thrust the cup at her, suddenly feeling awkward.

They sipped for a few minutes in silence, watching the river roll past. The mill turned steadily behind them, and across the fence Lil could see Mako tending his orchard. The imposing figure was not the most welcome of sights, and she turned away again, trying not to dwell on everything at once.

"You really like it here." She observed, seeing Nori still sipping, eyes lost in fascination as the river rolled into town.

She closed her obsidian eyes. "It's…nice here. Sometimes it's so quiet I get bored, but not lately. I'm glad to have met you." The girl shrugged her small shoulders up. "Even if you can't stay for very long, thank you."

There was a sigh, and Nori opened her eyes again. "Lilly…?" She asked, curious.

There was a slight nod of the wavy, chestnut-crowned head and the other girl raised her eyebrows as if she hadn't heard what she said.

"Thank you… for being so outspoken." Nori said. "If you weren't, I might've… I would've let them continue on that way. Even if it was just for a little while, if you and Phillip do leave… I wanted to thank you again."

The new girl finished her tea and went to lean on the long wooden fence nearby, not saying anything at first. She looked at her feet as if fascinating things were happening down there. "Please stop."

Nori looked at her and waited patiently for the rest of it, hands folded in front of her.

"I didn't do anything." Lillian said. "Because you're smart, you realized that you couldn't stay shy forever. But you're kind, too- so don't try to make me feel like my being here is helping you at all. I know I've been a burden."

Just then the front door to Gombe's seed shop burst open violently, shaking the little building on its foundation.

"Nori!"

Nori jumped. "Yes, grandpa?"

The little man scurried over to the girls in a state of abject panic, his woven reed hat falling off of his head while he ran.

"My lucky cricket's escaped! I need to bag up the rest of the seeds for today but little Hikaru is gone and I can't find him anywhere!"

The girls rushed to action to help Gombe (who kept seeing crickets that were not 'his' cricket), and the morning passed by quickly after that. It didn't take them long to forget what they were even talking about to begin with as their tentative friendship began to be less polite and more real.

After an exhaustive search to no avail, their efforts turned to comforting the old man as best they could. Before long Lillian found herself promising to catch him another one (better than the ones in town), which stopped some of the water from coming from his eyes.

Nori bowed out of the picnic for the day, as she now had to help her grandfather at the shop.

This was how, not an hour later, Lillian found herself walking next to Kana up the vibrant mountain path, his proud mare stepping carefully beside him.

They walked quietly among the echos of spring with a few feet between them and said nothing, even though in their minds they spoke volumes.

…

Kana couldn't keep his eyes ahead of him.

Being significantly taller than her, it was easy to steal glances over and admire the feathery lift in her hair- the way little beams of light kept breaking in the canopy and falling to anoint her head as she passed through the forest.

He could see the outline of her silken face as shadows danced away from it and saw so many different colors in her eyelashes in the light.

She was almost not from this world.

He wanted to say something- anything- that would get her to turn her head and look at him, to talk to him, but they had kept this stoic hush for so long that he didn't dare.

He realized it was cowardly to keep ignoring her like this, but every time he'd gotten involved with her he'd only managed to make things worse.

Besides, at least when she was quiet she wasn't trying to hit him with anything.

He sighed, a little too loudly.

…

Lillian was counting the minutes.

This was so, so awkward right now.

The feeling that Kana had something important on his mind didn't go away, but Lillian had since resolved not to get involved with him more than she had to.

Sure, he was attractive, even though he dwarfed her by over a foot in height and she had to crane her neck to look up at him. He had gorgeous eyes that seemed shallow on the surface unless you were really looking into them, and his long, messy brown hair was always dancing around wildly as he moved in his carefree way. His well-honed muscles made every burden he carried seem weightless and made her long to reach out and touch them, golden and kissed by the sun.

But he was unpredictable. Lillian had no idea if he was acting on impulse half the time, or because he was supposed to be doing things for the better of the town.

In this way Ina's red shadow stood behind him, the forceful woman's iron influence hanging over his every decision, lurking behind his expressions and drawn brow.

In all that Lillian was left wondering who he really was.

So even though the silence between them was poignant and made her feel she was being rude, she kept it wrapped around them as they walked and steeled her heart against her instinct.

Maybe he would reveal himself to her in time.

…

It took the better part of the early afternoon for Lillian and Kana to get to the meeting place, but there was still time for Phillip and Cam to show up.

Not feeling like dealing with the arrogant Cam, Kana told Lillian to get him if she needed anything.

"Where are you going to go?" She asked, curious. He often snuck off so he didn't have to eat with the other side, but it had bothered her. He knew somehow exactly when it was time to return each day.

"Just a little fishing." He said lightly. "I'm actually very good at it."

"Oh." That made sense, she should've known as a lot of his requests were for fish for snacks and things.

Not that she was trying to fill his requests, she reminded herself irritably. "Well happy fishing."

"Mmm." He agreed, leaving her at the meeting clearing.

"Hey Kana?"

"Yes?" He turned around abruptly.

"Are you leaving Hayate here?"

His mare was tied under the shade several yards away, flicking her tail against her coffee brown side.

"Oh. Well, if anything happens she can take you right back to the village ahead of me." His eyes narrowed. "In case Cam gets any ideas."

_Ideas about what?_ She wondered, taken aback at the random insinuation. "Cam is harmless." She said, and instantly wondered why she knew it was the truth.

Kana's expression became disbelief, followed by anger, and he clenched his fists at his side. When he spoke the lightheartedness of his tone was gone, replaced by something like a controlled growl. "Just in case you find out that he isn't harmless." He said, stalking off without any elaboration.

She rolled her eyes-Kana was so weird sometimes- and got back to opening up everything for their picnic.

She thought about how Cam had tried to stir Kana up at the contest last week and realized that there was a lot going on between the two towns than she and her brother were likely to find out right away. She wondered what the history was between Kana and Cam. Well, they were both actively participating in the military efforts of their villages; she supposed that was enough to make them hate one another. It was probably a learned behavior.

A twig snapped in the near distance and brought her out of her introspection.

"Phillip!" She said happily, jumping up off the grass to share an embrace.

Phillip grinned from ear to ear. "Hi, Lil. How are you today?" He asked over her head.

"Great. I'm great now."

"Good." He released her and studied her face. "Did I miss anything?"

She shrugged, but when he turned his head to the side she knew he had seen that something was bothering her.

"What's up?"

She shook her head. "Nothing." She looked behind him, searching for ways to change the subject. Kana was not someone she wanted to discuss with Phillip, since Phillip hated the fact that he was acting as her guardian. "Where's Cam?"

Lillian admittedly was looking forward to seeing more of Cam, although she knew little about him. He could always be counted on to join them for lunch and eat quietly, and had been kind enough to answer the twin's questions about life here as if it wasn't weird that they were asking. Even though he didn't seem to care for Konoahana at all, he had been perfectly polite to shy Nori when she joined them, and those lunches had gone by quickly and even with some laughter.

She could tell Phillip had a good friend in Cam, and it warmed her heart to see him.

Instead of Cam today, she saw an entirely different person with an entirely different quality about her. The girl standing behind her brother was glaring at him without shame, as if she hated every moment she had to spend with him.

Phillip smiled sheepishly and turned to the redhead. "Lil, this is my friend, Georgia."

Georgia's deep brown gaze switched over to Lillian and Lillian caught an instant chill from the hostility in it.

She lowered her voice. "Is your friend somewhere behind that angry-looking amazon…?" She said to him.

And Phillip had to suppress a laugh.

Georgia cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Hi-nice-to-meet-you." She said all in a rush, not looking as if she meant a word of it.

"Nice to meet you too." Lillian responded without missing a beat. "Will you be joining us?"

The amazon kept her hands crossed over her chest and looked away, as if it was out of the question.

"I made something with fresh mushrooms from the mountain." Lillian tried, for some reason wanting this girl to sit down and feel like a part of the group. It would make things easier for her brother, too.

The girl hesitated, then said, "No, I don't think-"

"It's fried rice with mushrooms?" She offered.

"Ohh, nice!" Phillip helped his sister open the containers and started to make up a plate.

The girl's eyes lit up and her whole stance changed suddenly. "Really?" She dropped her hands from her chest and put one over her chin, seriously thinking about it. "I don't reckon I've had fried rice since-"

Lillian smiled. "There's grilled fish, too. Caught it myself yesterday."

And the hostile glare came back. "Ugh! No, thank you!"

"Okay…" Lillian's smile faltered.

She watched as Georgia sat down anyways, giving them a good amount of space.

Phillip wordlessly passed a plate of rice in front of her with a fork and a napkin, and Lillian watched her just stare at it.

This was going to be a long day.


	25. Chapter 25: Lunch on Whim

"So when will Cam be joining us again?"

Phillip shrugged. "I dunno. Does it matter?"

She tried not to look disappointed. Lillian hadn't realized what nice company he was on their lunches, until she had Georgia's fire and ice to compare it to.

She racked her mind for topics while they ate and couldn't think of anything, so chewed in pensive silence without making eye contact.

Not that it would have mattered. Nobody else was talking either.

Georgia sat off to the side and slowly ate her serving of rice, whether because she was savoring it or feeling uncomfortable relaxing with them it was difficult to tell.

Lillian had to remind herself that she had asked for these meetings everyday so that she could see her brother and they should be enjoying the moment.

Around the edges of the clearing the leaves breathed in a heavy sigh and she closed her eyes when the wind swept her face.

For some reason at that, a moment of clarity broke into the jungle of her mind and she made a decision. She finished her fish in a few bites and started packing up the food.

Phillip watched her out of the corner of his eye- he'd seen this mood before.

"Lil…?"

She shook her head slowly and got to her feet.

Georgia looked up too- raising her eyebrows.

"I'm tired of this." She said to Phillip.

He frowned.

"Not that the whole picnic thing isn't fun, but I want to see your farm that you're so proud of."

_Was that a good idea…? _He nibbled his lower lip on the edge in thought.

She took the pack of food and walked past where Georgia and Phillip were still sitting, plates spread out in front of them.

"But why not finish the-"

Lillian could see hesitation on his face and reached down, grabbing his plate from in front of him. "I still have more." She assured, taking the plate over to where Georgia sat watching. "Excuse me." She said, dumping Phillip's plate of rice and fish onto the other girl's without warning.

Georgia jumped to her feet immediately, looking for a second like a spooked cat. "What are ya doin'?!" She fell silent again when there was no response.

Lillian covered the combined dish, scribbled a note on it and began walking towards the Bluebell side of the mountain, stalking through the clearing as if they were going to try and stop her.

Phillip and Georgia looked at each other, until finally he laughed. "All right, you can see my farm. Sheesh."

He had to jog to catch up.

…

Kana hadn't caught anything today besides a moment to himself.

Fishing was like that. Of course the purpose was to have something fresh to cook up later, but even if nothing with gills were biting, there was still something to gain from it.

Today had helped clear up some confusion.

All he had to do was be himself. Setting aside everything that had happened, and who was on what side, and if Lillian did feel that way about Phillip, or didn't, none of it had to with Kana after all.

He could probably make it back in time to have a few bites of the lunch Lillian had prepared where he would put his best foot forward and hold his head high. He had nothing to be ashamed of.

He could admit now that he was attracted to Lillian, and that was it. It didn't have to be dramatic or about losing his chance with her.

Finally after the last several days he had been able to convince himself to reach out to her again- just as friends- and not get too far ahead.

He would apologize on the way home and treat her as he did any one of his friends. That way she wouldn't fall into those uncomfortable silences around him.

As he made it back to the meeting place he noticed nothing unusual… aside from the fact that there was really nothing to notice in the first place. It took him a moment of looking around to realize that the meeting was over and Blluebell was gone, but so was… Lillian?

There was still something left on the shorn stump they'd been using for a table, so maybe they went on a trail together.

As he got closer to the table he noticed the briefest of notes, scrawled casually in atrocious penmanship and tucked under a plate piled high with food;

_Kana,_

_Visiting Bluebell. Eat something._

_-L_

He stared at it for several minutes, waiting for her to jump out of the bushes like some kid trying to scare him. But she wasn't there, and that's when he started to become really afraid.

Somewhere in him he realized as his heart rate increased and his mouth went dry that this was why Lillian would never be like his other friends.

She was too… disruptive to be his friend.


	26. Chapter 26: All Paths Lead to Bluebell

_Author's Note: I've recently reloaded the first 25 chapters of the story on the site here as a lot of them were about to expire for editing, and I've reread and fixed a few things. Anyone who notices a mistake or grammatical error in what's posted- could you please let me know about it? My goal is to have everything online be complete, so I can allow the chapters to become permanent next time. To that end, you may notice that the story gets changed just a little within the first day I post a chapter- it never fails that I misspell something the first time._

_Also- I'm getting ready to focus more on romance, so let me know who looks like a better fit for Phillip and Lillian! (Although honestly I wing most of this because it's fun to write that way, but I do have a general favorite pairing for each, not that I'm gonna tell you guys that!)_

_Thanks!_

_The Frog_

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The breeze ruffled the trees around them with the warm promise of summer, joining the cool shaded pathways with a hum of afternoon activity. Below the reaching branches lush with spring green walked three figures, winding down the hillside in a natural migration.

Lillian had grabbed her brother's arm and urged him forward in excitement. She pointed needlessly to things that he'd obviously seen on his walk here an hour ago, eyes open and expressive with awe. The river that ran along the winding path down seemed to take up the most of her attention, and Phillip stopped when Lillian got too distracted by it and started to dart around foraging.

Georgia watched the two as they walked ahead of her, saying nothing. She'd noticed Phillip whether she'd wanted to or not these last weeks, and this behavior was a nothing like what she'd come to expect from him.

True, he had gone out of his way to talk to her, but there was always an edge to him when he spoke, and there was something off about it.

Whenever they saw each other randomly around the village everything became so awkward and his usual confidence seemed to evaporate into an uncomfortable silence. They either just looked away from each other or shared a curt nod.

She never knew why he was bothering to acknowledge her in the first place, and it bugged her, but for some reason the way he seemed to force himself to be cheerful around her was even worse.

If she knew herself better she would have recognized the small seed of discomfort that had taken root that first day he'd said hello to her in town and known it for what it was when it slowly began to blossom into humiliation. Everyday she'd watched him working hard to accept the village that had done him so much harm. Everyday she found that she was waiting for him to call out to her again, just to see if he was that thick-skinned to keep trying to win everyone over, even a girl like her.

He was too giving, offering his time to help everyone, learning what he could about people, throwing himself into the farm he had been made to answer for. He was a hard worker, but that just made it worse. Nobody did anything without being motivated by their own needs. Phillip, who had needed to find his sister and see her safe, now had found her again.

So he was back to being able to pursue his original goal, whatever that really was.

Not many people came to this mountain in the middle of densely forested wilderness. There wasn't anyone who should know about the villages to send tourists or residents here in the first place… which is why for all the beauty of it, no one ever moved in.

Now that he found Lillian, would they try to run, or stay and fulfill their original goal? By now it was possible that Phillip had learned a few things that would make Bluebell vulnerable.

But even though Georgia had been recently trying to understand him, today he was just… confusing.

Gone was the cautious expression that was always on his face, the determined set to his wide jaw, the hardness of his clear-as-marble, granite gray eyes. Instead of just being a silent observer among the Bluebell villagers she watched him getting swept along in his sister's energy to become a willing participant in her enjoyment. Today he was laughing in a way that touched his eyes.

He was unguarded and content.

Before Georgia knew what was happening, he was sharing his new cheerful energy with her too, and she felt warmth in it that she hadn't felt from anyone in a long time.

All she could think was, if she had met him any other way, they might have been friends.

…

Lillian was having an amazing time.

The day was gorgeous, she had slipped by her guard, and she was definitely going to raid her brother's fridge for snacks later.

As they made their way away from the long winding, churning river, and towards the actual village, she pretended not to notice Phillip's discomfort around the redheaded girl.

But when it became too obvious to ignore, she told him she was right behind and fell into step next to the girl, curious.

The girl had pale brown eyes and her hair fell in long locks about her shoulders. She walked with confidence, surveying everything around her as if it were hers. There was a striking difference between someone like her, not afraid to challenge others with just her eyes, and someone like Nori, polite to a fault.

"It's beautiful here." She said to the girl as they fell in step together.

The girl nodded and kept walking.

"Have you always lived here?" Lillian asked, prompting the girl to actually turn and face her.

The severe expression came back, and Lillian found herself explaining, "It's just that, I noticed you have a different accent sometimes from the other people I've met. Is that just a Bluebell accent?"

Georgia shrugged. "I don't know. Does it matter where I come from? What do you want to know fer, anyways?"

Well that backfired.

"Since you're close to my- well not exactly close to him, but because you know… I want to know about the people who are living in Bluebell. I'm just curious." She finished, feeling kind of stupid for asking now.

"No, I'm not from Bluebell, not properly." The girl said after a pause. "But I been here long enough to belong by now. Can I ask you somethin'?

Lillian perked up. "Yes?"

"What are you both here for? I know what happened with the accident an' everything, but what was the original idea of coming here?"

Oh, that's why she was asking. "I'm sorry we disrupted things for everyone." Lilian said quietly. "I hope it helps for you to know, if we knew it would be like this we never would have come here in the first place."

Georgia stopped walking for a moment, stooping to pick up a small stone and skip it off of a thin tree trunk into the forest. Not satisfied, she picked up another.

Phillip doubled back. "You okay, Geo?" He never let an opportunity to use her nickname pass him by: she hated it too much.

The redhead practically growled. "Fine, I'm fine. Just trying to figure you guys out." She muttered half under her breath. "But you know what, I realized there's nothing to figure out. You probably thought you'd come here and get a good long look at this place, then run along home to the city to tell 'em all about it."

Another stone flung through distant branches, breaking off leaves to come fluttering down.

"Tell 'em about what?" Phillip asked, honestly not sure what she was talking about.

"Tell 'em how pathetic it is, how we spent generations here fighting over slivers of land on a single mountain when there's a whole world to go out and see, to conquer!" Aggravation fueled the next stone, which went whizzing past the group and bounced off of only one tree.

His voice was soft. "Why, is that how you feel about it?"

She stopped, stone cocked in her fist and ready to fly. Then she let it go with all of her strength at once. "Yah!" And then turned back to him. "Maybe it is. Maybe not. I'm just sayin' that's how people view our villages. Yokels who can't control themselves. You come here to write a story about us?" She shot a glare at Lillian. "You want to observe both towns, right?"

Lillian let out a giggle that she couldn't suppress. "Seriously." She shook her head, looking at Phillip. "Is this the sort of thing you deal with here?"

Georgia dropped the next rock to the ground a created a fist, stepping towards Lillian threateningly. "I can wipe that smirk off your face for ya, if you don't mind it." She said.

"What?" Lillian shot her hand out just in case. "Hey! I'm just saying everybody really jumps to conclusions- knock it off will you?" She braced herself for the girl to come after her.

Georgia lowered her fist to look the chestnut-haired girl in the eyes.

Then Phillip walked over, and silently put his hand over Geo's fist. She tensed and turned on him- but he surprised her instead.

The fiery young rancher found herself in a warm embrace, and all the heat of her anger suddenly melted away with it.

"I'm sorry, Georgia." He said, holding her firmly.

"Wha- sorry for what?" Geo found herself sputtering, and he released her.

"Like Lil said, we're disrupting your lives here."

A look of doubt was on her face. "Well, what are you all doing out here, then?"

And Phillip grinned. It was the sort of grin she'd seen on him before, but it had never been aimed at her, and she found it near impossible to not smile back at all. Before she knew it, her mouth was turning up at an angle.

"Let's get the rest of the way to the Farm and we'll tell you about it." He promised. Lillian nodded, and the twins turned to go back down the path in step.

It wasn't until they were several feet ahead of her that the redhead found her heart rate increasing at what had just happened.

…

Kana toed the line, his mind and his body in complete disagreement with each other.

He didn't see anyone from the bluebell patrol, but that didn't mean that somebody wasn't out there, waiting for him to cross over.

_Was that even Lillian's handwriting?_

He tried to quell his fear with anger and wasn't successful. Knowing them, they'd just kidnapped her right out from under his watch. He had been so stupid, waiting for her without staying in earshot.

A voice echoed in the recessed portions of his mind, the voice of doubt that always kept him working so hard.

_Dammit, Kana! You were too busy being confused about her to protect her- you call yourself a man!_

He was angry with himself, but also… somehow he'd expected better of that idiot, Cam. He should've known Cam would try and pull something like this, he realized now. His kind act had always been a show, a farce to get what he wanted from other people.

And now that Kana had been away from the scrimmage line, he had made his move. How foolish had it been to think that there was any integrity there, that he was able to leave her alone with them!

Kana covered his eyes from the light that was streaming in on him from the clearing for a moment.

"I was just trying to give you space…" He muttered, regret in his voice.

So, what now? If he went after her he would be treated like an insurgent and would be lucky to escape with his life.

If he went to get help from Konohana they would definitely be viewed as a force of invasion. He cursed and stalked over to Hayate, who could sense his unease and was pawing the ground impatiently. He rubbed the velvet of her snout and patted her face, allowing the big creature to calm his heart.

In a swift motion he was saddled, and heading down the path to Bluebell.


	27. Chapter 27: That's Not Like You

Phillip lead the way, mystified slightly with Georgia's behavior. The girl was petit, but incredibly strong, and didn't hold back- he could admire her courage. But her temper, and again the clumsiness of her overly-casual talks with Laney... was it possible for someone like her to actually not have confidence?

He watched her walking behind them, not making eye contact, while Lilly went on about some new crop she wanted to plant but couldn't afford yet.

He wondered what her role in the Bluebell Militia was, really.

She was always ready to fight, reacted more quickly than everyone else, and was hyper-vigilant when given a task. The only time she relaxed was with her horses, on her father's ranch when chores were done.

He resolved to get some answers today.

It didn't take long for the three of them to reach the outskirts of Bluebell, although Lil kept stopping every few feet to admire the Hyacinths lining the path in pure white and deep azure.

Phillip stopped ahead, and waited for her.

Georgia waited, too, still not saying anything.

For some reason it was driving him nuts. Not that he'd wanted her to hit his sister, earlier… but now the fiery rancher had shut down completely, and all because of a simple gesture like a hug.

Maybe people just weren't affectionate around here, or something. That's how he always got Lil to feel better when she was upset. He couldn't figure it out.

_Maybe I need to stop thinking so much about her. It doesn't matter,_ he reminded himself. _It was the best way to resolve her anger at the time_.

_If anybody needed some hug therapy anyway, it was this girl_, he thought.

He waved to his sister, who was touching each petal on the tall, tightly-clustered flowers. "Lil? Any day now! There's an actual farm to show you!"

Lillian jumped up; she'd forgotten he was still there. She blushed a bit in embarrassment. "Right- sorry- but do you remember that book that I got from the Library with all the different spring flowers in it? I've never seen a real one. It's called a Haya… heyasin… well whatever I have no idea how you say it- but this is one of them!"

"And there's about forty more to pet before you even get three steps closer to where you're going." He said without missing a beat. "Besides, don't you still have that book?"

She stopped, thinking. "I returned it a couple of villages ago."

"What? Returned it how? You got it in the city, remember?"

"Well I gave it to the library a few towns over. Didn't I tell you that?"

He stared at her. "I thought you stole it." He said seriously.

She got up immediately and stomped over to where he was standing. "I didn't keep it on purpose! I just wasn't done with it yet!"

"So you returned it to a different library…?"

She nodded. "Obviously!"

"It's not like in the city you know."

"Yeah, so?" She crossed her arms.

"So you gave it to a different town entirely, they aren't going to send it back to where you got it for you." He sighed. "I can't believe you made them an accomplice to your theft."

"What? I did no such thing! I gave it to the girl and she… oh. Oh! So that's what she meant by that." And now Lillian was quiet too.

He watched her face flicker through a few emotions until she settled on mortification. He wanted to laugh, but at least he'd gotten her to start walking again. "You coming with us, Geo?" He called back over from where his sister stood, biting her lip.

Georgia looked up from what was apparently a deep thought. "Huh?"

He waited patiently for her to catch up. When she did, he locked eyes with hers for a moment, and she turned away. "What are you looking at?" She grumbled.

"That's not like you." He accused.

She drew back from him as they walked. "What isn't?"

"Avoiding people. Aren't you even sort of"- if memory served- "Hands on?" He raised an eyebrow, daring her to challenge it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Finally her eyes swung up to meet his. Looking closely, there were flecks of gold in them.

"I'm implying that you have no idea how to treat people unless they're your enemy." He said evenly. "Am I right, or is it just recently that you've not tried to be nice to anyone?"

She stared at him, and he got the sense that he was too close to the mark. He decided to press his luck, and smiled at her not unkindly. "Shouldn't you be I don't know, out subjugating your foes or something?"

And she wound back her fist and hit him, square in the chest. "I know what to do when people start makin' fun o' me!" She yelled.

He looked down at her eyes that were finally focused. "Do you feel better now?" He asked.

She stared at him. "Better 'en what?"

"Better to be in familiar territory. Now you can just be angry with me. It's easier for you."

There was a moment of silence where the breeze rustled a few more young green leaves onto the path at their feet, neither of them knowing what to say next.

"Wow." His sister's voice took him out of his line of thought. "That came out kind of condescending." She observed.

He looked at her sharply. "What did?"

Lillian put her hands up to her temples. "Well, I'm not sure what's going on between you two, but shouldn't you both be more civil to each other?" She looked from one to the other, as if telling them to pay attention.

Phillip's voice took on an uncharacteristic edge that Lillian recognized instantly. "I'll be civil when I'm not the only one bothering to be."

Her mind went back to her first few days in Konohana and the chaos that her emotions had been. What had he been through? "Okay. I can understand that." She appeased. "But you do know that I have no idea what's really going on here, right? I mean- I have no idea what the girl did to you that hurt you before now but that's no reason to talk down to her like you are."

Georgia's eyes flicked over to his with a question that went unseen.

His grey eyes cooled and his back straightened up. "If you have no idea than you have no place trying to discuss it with me."

Lillian thought about that. "True…" She started.

"Exactly. I'm right, so leave it." He said, turning to head back to his farm alone.

"Alright, alright stop. Phil! I'm sorry okay?"

He kept walking.

"I'm sorry, and you'd better accept it." Her voice went from pleading to threatening.

He picked up his pace, not stopping to look back.

Georgia watched with interest as the girl started to smile, then took a deep breath and launched herself into a run. "That's it! Hope you only wanted to hear it once because I'm not saying it again!""

"That's- twice!" He shouted back, running away now.

She caught up in a few bounds and leaped at him, tackling him laughing to the ground.

Somehow by the time Georgia had walked over the scene had become a wrestling match.

Phillip was apparently a pretty good wrestler who hated getting the back of his knees pinched unfairly, and Lillian was not strong enough to win but was wily enough that she had no intention of loosing, twisting her way out of impossible holds.

Eventually Lillian was coerced by tickling tactics into giving up, and they stopped, laughing and dusting themselves off, arguing about who had cheated the most.

It took several more minutes for them to catch their breath, and for Lillian to smile sheepishly and apologize to the girl with the fiery hair for what she had witnessed.

Georgia just stood there, suddenly wishing that she had a brother of her own.

.

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_Author's Note: Do you guys care if I put these at the bottom? Anyways, I wanted to have something more light-hearted and this scene came out- hope you don't mind that nothing dramatic happened. I realized too that I haven't shown enough of the twin's relationships with their potential matches to be asking what you all think yet- I'd better work on that! And for some reason what I think will take a chapter or so ends up taking three, if gets hard to follow, please let me know. If you can tell I struggle a little with having to choose between the peaceful nature of the game and the idea of having a war- I really want to write some fight scenes, but then how will they all learn to get along? So that's what's taking some time to figure out._


	28. Chapter 28: The Quiet Approach

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A young woman sat in silent contemplation, her pleated hair piled over her head in ebony tresses, a few long braids falling from what ended up looking like a short bob after being tied up. But she needed it out of her way to work and it was just fine that way.

A few notes on this one left, and she could take it as a sample to the lab.

She stretched pale arms above her when she was finished and stood up easily after hours of sitting on her heels- she did this every day when she could.

Some of the paths were well worn, but others, as her thin blue shoes navigating her through the terrain now discovered, some had not been trodden since seasons ago.

Nonetheless, there had been people this way recently, skirting the river.

One of the best trackers in either village, Reina walked the forest with a whisper of a tread that never seemed to leave behind a mark, fingertips brushing tree trunks as if she could pull their personalities from them and have them lead her on her way.

She knew better than anyone that the forest was alive, had a will of its own. Usually she had the pleasure of going along for the ride, watching things unfold as nature did. Even at it's most chaotic, nature could be understood, and she loved it for that.

It was amicable today, allowing all sorts of activity without stirring up cadres of wildlife to hinder her path as she researched, poking around in wild hedges, under reaching vines and into echoing caverns.

She dutifully kept a small weapon in her satchel for safety, especially as today she would be going a little further than usual. That was her right this week as a Konohana native, and she had full plans to take advantage of the fact. Some of the things that grew closer to Bluebell seemed to live under a different light- as if the sun cast shadows on her side of the mountain and allowed only shade-loving things to flourish close to home.

She hoped to be able to plants a few things on both sides one day and find out.

If it was the soil, well for the first time since the dark days of winter had reached its icy heart over the land and sealed within its secrets, the ground had once more opened up to her feet and prying hands for her sole discovery.

She was interested in the plants in this part of the forest more than the people, but the nature of her work required vigilance. Her study required her to travel the mountain's twisting pathways alone for hours. She had long ago learned to conceal her steps and how to protect herself if discovered. Even though her work was dangerous, she loved it and was happy to be at the front of scientific advancement.

Her stomach gurgled and reminded her that she'd forgotten to pack a lunch in her hurry to leave this morning. Usually Monday was an off day for her, but the next contest was very soon and there was no time to waste. There had to be a lot of samples to gather in this season, but last Spring Bluebell had swept the competition and with it went the best time of year for her to walk this land.

She went several more paces before the ground began to slope less steeply, and she knew that might've actually passed the conflict line that invisibly divided their territory for now. The river twisted in new ways and the bird songs were… off. Sharp and clear, a new call met her ear. Possibly some kind of skylark.

But… that shouldn't be possible; she didn't feel she had gone that far. She placed a hand up under her chin in contemplation and stopped to listen.

Only the sound of a swirling river, nothing unusual about that. No sounds of people amassing or fighting, or people at all. No horses.

So… where had the patrols gone to?

Not one easily taken over by her nerves, Reina calmly packed her research materials away in her satchel and gathered a few thick fist-sized rocks, filling the belted pouch that usually hung empty at her side.

…

The twins had settled down to lunch inside Phillip's little house after a lengthy tour of his budding farm, which sat nestled on the outskirts of Bluebell across from a patient-looking and abandoned little white church where everything seemed to swim in flowers.

A small wooden sign adorned the path that separated a small sliver of a field from the sizable animal pasture, identifying the place as Tales Ranch.

When Lillian had asked about the name, her brother had shrugged and said she always guessed heads which fit because she wasted time over thinking everything.

It was just like him to impulsively name his farm after his favorite side of a coin.

He tried to get her to change the name of her farm to Heads Plantation but of course she wouldn't, the name she'd chosen was so much better.

"What about Head's Holding? That sounds good," He said in between mouthfuls of rice.

To his side Georgia was contentedly getting a second helping, avoiding the side of the table with fish on it.

Lillian shook her head. "How about you rename your ranch to something less stupid." She suggested.

"So, Something-Less-Stupid Estates? Clever Meadow?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, unless you plan on coming up with tall tales to tell the tourists that are never gonna find this place."

"I like it." The redhead said, not making eye contact as if embarrassed to admit her opinion.

Phillip grinned again. "Geo likes it." He said to Lil in a sassy way.

The Bluebell girl frowned. "It just sounds like there are a lot of animals there. Like a farm and a petting Zoo, is all. Right?"

Lillian rolled her eyes again, but Georgia witnessed the reaction.

"Oh, ferget it!" She reverted, and Lillian couldn't help but giggle.

…

_Soft steps_, he kept reminding himself. _Step softly_…_ There's no need to go charging in_.

Even if that's exactly what he wanted to do.

This far away from his own village, there was no way to really signal for help, and the next patrol didn't start until much later in the afternoon. There was always the possibility that Mako was out of his own accord, looking for new seeds to splice together, but he found the best ones in the fertile soil down stream from the waterfall closer to Konohana and it wasn't very likely today.

He followed the main path sloping downwards, and when he got to unfamiliar territory he slid off of Hayate's back, patting her side in reassurance. She snorted and he shook his head at her- she understood him well enough to quiet down, taking a hoof step back. He drew out his long spear from where it was always kept saddled to the side, and cautiously began his march forward.

Going onto this side of the mountain was something he had never done alone in his life, and there was something thrilling about it. He couldn't tell if it was good or bad, that his heart was racing more with each step. His best girl Hayate could sense his unease and stayed close as they advanced forward among the deceptively peaceful sounds of early spring.

It had been years. Last time he'd been this way was years ago, for a raid. He had been 15 or so, and had already become fully entrenched in the war years before that, when his family's ranch had been set on fire and burned clear to the ground.

Hayate had been young then, and was the only animal to survive. He patted her flank as he walked, trying not to think about the kind of people he was approaching intentionally.

…

The young blond girl found herself rooted to the ground in shock.

She had been standing quietly near the shipping bin, pretending to be admiring the flowers there, while secretly being locked in a battle of self-will.

On one hand, she could give the small platter of brightly-colored sugar cookies she held covered in her arms to Phillip as a friendly gesture. On the other, she could just ship them and lie to her dad about it, which would mercifully delay the inevitable.

Talking to him again.

She knew that with his personality he would approach her again soon enough and she'd need to learn to deal with his presence here in town.

But the truth was that he just made her too uncomfortable, more than anyone had in a long time. The young man was far too observant and aware of his surroundings for her liking, she felt like the polite hellos that she had relied on her entire life were not going to be good enough with him. And she had nothing to talk about in the first place.

The prospect of having to take another step in his direction is what froze her initially near the shipping bin. That bin was the final hurdle in approaching Tales Ranch. After that, it would be obvious to anyone who happened by where she was headed, and she'd be forced to see it through and make a visit.

But that was when, in broad daylight, she saw someone that terrified her more than she remembered, who made her forget her petty hesitation had ever existed.

In fact, if she hadn't wasted her time in hesitation here, her life might not be in danger now.

She held her breath (as if that was going to do any good), and ducked behind some rose bushes, watching the sunlight gleam off of the long, bronze-tipped spear he carried in front of him, and prayed he wouldn't look in her direction.

His light brown hair bound jaggedly behind the nape of his neck, his favorite war horse in silent step at his side, Kana strode forward with confidence, as if aiming to conquer the world.


	29. Chapter 29: Bronze on Steel

The moment that Laney's panic evolved into somber reality was when Kana straightened his back and looked around, his light brown eyes sliding over to where she was crouched behind the bushes. His mouth turned up in an ironic smile and she knew she'd been spotted.

She found herself tossing the plate of cookies over her shoulder and into the shipping bin without looking back, the resounding clunk of the plate landing loudly behind her.

It had been an easy decision after all.

…

Kana took in the entrance to the town while taking slow, deep breaths. The last thing he needed now was to lose his cool and go charging in anywhere.

It looked nothing like it had during their night-time raids, and he was struck by the sheer amount of vibrant colors that greeted him and Hayate right out of the mouth of the woods.

_Typically ostentatious. _

The amount of effort that had to be expended to make this many flowers bloom (Spring or not) on the outskirts of town could have easily been spent growing actual food, hunting, or building protections to keep people like him from entering on their own whim.

Were they even taking this conflict seriously? He gripped the shaft of his spear tightly to his side, trying not to become angry. His family had suffered so much at the hands of people that thought nothing of it, that would kill and then turn their backs on the enemy, taking time to plant and grow flowers as if they had left no victims behind.

He closed his eyes for a second and forced another calm breath out.

_Relax. You're not here for revenge. Just focus on getting Lillian away from these people._

He opened his eyes again and took in his surroundings another way- strategically.

With some nudging Hayate stepped forward while he looked, her shoes clicking unevenly on the cobblestones below.

Directly in front of the cobbled path stood two proud cherry trees, guardians of the entrance, flanked by short stone walls. Directly breaking away from their post the path diverged. One path turned to the south on his left side and seemed to lead away from the entrance itself and deeper into the woods. Another forward and more southwest route tapered, lined with young fir trees and marked with a sign for some ranch. Directly ahead and furthest north was clearly the way into the town proper; while to the right and more Northeast stood a tall church, looming over everything else.

He heard the scuff of a shoe near what looked like a large white box under cover of the ugliest striped canopy Kana had ever seen. There he saw movement- the ducking of a bright blonde head behind a rosebush and couldn't avoid smiling.

_Discovered already_, he thought. _Maybe they aren't so unprepared as they look_. He kept walking forward as calmly as he could manage, body prepared to react to an ambush.

Suddenly the blond appeared again, this time to toss something into the bin. Her petit form then turned to sprint back into town- the flash of a white apron over a blue skirt-

and was halted immediately by the spear that flew inches from her stomach, sticking jaggedly out from the fresh brown earth to the side of the path.

The girl tensed and opted to jump over it nimbly, but Kana outpaced her easily and caught her by the wrist, jerking her backwards against his chest to keep her off balance.

She twisted, working to free her wrist and he caught her other one, speaking into her ear quietly. "Calm down."

He expected her to scream, but instead her breathing came quickly in a panic, as if even screaming was beyond her. She shook her head as if to say 'don't', but again no words came out.

Kana didn't know the girl's name, but she was easily recognized by her participating in nearly every cooking competition he'd ever gone to. Not that it mattered. She faced away from him as he had caught her in retreat, and now she stood, straining against his hold of her wrists.

She was trembling, but out of anger or fear he couldn't tell.

"I'm just here to find someone." He said, as if that were going to calm her down. "I can't let you get into town to announce that I'm here- that's the only reason I'm holding on to you now. Understand?"

More trembling. Was that a yes…?

He maneuvered her out of view of the main path, painfully aware of how obvious a strange horse would be here anyways.

This had to be done quickly.

He took another deep breath in, hating that he had to be here again, hating how scared he felt himself. But it couldn't be helped. "If you can understand me, please nod your head."

The blond turned her head to look over her shoulder at him, and her hands balled into fists. She nodded, avoiding meeting his eyes. "I have no intention of hurting you. Understand?"

Her ice blue eyes slid up to quickly search his face as if she were surprised. She shook her head and said nothing but the meaning was clear- _I don't believe you._

"I just need to know one thing- where is Lillian?" He asked urgently. "I know you people have taken her- so where is she?" Without meaning to he tightened his grips on her wrists and she started to pull back- tears forming in her eyes.

_Dammit_.

He changed tactics and released one of her wrists so she could turn to face him, confusion evident in her expression.

"Please." He said, covering her fist with his free hand. "Where did Georgia and Cam take her? You have to have seen it!"

"A-"

The girl opened her mouth as if testing her voice, and Kana leaned forward, hoping against himself that it would be this easy.

"ASH! Help- HELP me!" She finally started to scream. "Help!" And Laney remembered what little self defense training she had had, grabbing his wrist in turn and slamming her hip into his side with all her might.

He was significantly taller than her and her attempt to throw him merely set him off balance, but it was enough of an opening to free her for her to start to run again.

Kana recovered quickly and grabbed his spear from where it stuck out of the ground next to the shipping bin, tossing it with a low spin at Laney's feet to trip her.

She fell forward, into the arms of a kid that seemed too scrawny to be a farmhand whom Kana did recognize.

Ash.

The kid wore his usual suspenders and grey workpants, his cobalt eyes full of worry, until they rested on the invader, who had kicked up his spear again, standing with it defensively in front.

"Laney. It's okay now- go get Howard." Laney nodded, back to not speaking, and took off behind him.

That's when Kana noticed the pitchfork in his hand, gripped with white knuckles.

The young, caramel-haired rancher glared at Kana under his normally-cheery orange plaid hat and opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted.

"Where is Lillian- I know you've taken her!" Kana accused.

"What? Who's- what are you talking about?" The boy asked warily, looking confused but not shaken.

Kana ignored this claim, pressing on with the force of his own internal panic. "We agreed to let the meetings take place for the sake of the twins, and you immediately betrayed our trust! Return Lillian to us NOW!" He ground his teeth in frustration.

There was a wary standstill for a few seconds as both sized up the other, but Kana knew he would have to move first if he didn't want to be caught here. For them to cover up their kidnapping so quickly made him shiver with worry for Lillian- what kind of plan did Bluebell have, how were they going to use her?

He lunged at the boy who reacted quickly, deflecting the first thrust.

"Leave." The boy growled, spinning the pitchfork around deftly to land it upwards at his side. For the smallness of his frame he showed no fear, just determination.

Kana smiled cynically and crouched low, sweeping the bronze tip of his spear upwards to have it be met and deflected off by the pitchfork. Ash stepped into a thrust, the tines of the long fork catching the bronze tip of the spear, and the boy lifted his weapon in a violent swirl attempting to disarm Kana- who merely spun with the arc of the weapons and kicked down, dislodging his spear from the tines and stepping back half a step.

Kana visibly relaxed and Ash kept his guard up. "Last chance," The boy warned, hefting his weapon in both hands and arcing it inches from Kana's face. In a second the Konohanian dodged it, instead launching his spear forward from the heal of his hand to extend his reach, and just barely catching Ash in the shoulder with the sharpest end.

The boy stumbled backwards but came away with only a torn shirt and a cut laterally across the top of his bicep. One of the straps of his suspenders fell and he breathed heavily, looking more serious than Kana had seen him in a long time.

"Give up." Kana advised. "I'm not here for you. If you want a fight, I have more experience and I will win. I only came to seek the release of your hostage."

Hand to his shoulder, Ash shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. But you can explain it- after your defeat!" Swiftly he lunged towards the taller man, who met with his spear again, the clash of bronze on steel echoing even in the flower-laden courtyard. He swept the fork in towards Kana's stomach and captured the blade once more, but pulled it back with a jerk when the tall rancher leapt over to aim a sharp stomp at it's wooden shaft.

Ash got his weapon out in time to save it from being broken, but was already running out of ideas to hold the older man off. Like Kana said, he had more experience, and with the similarity of their weapons this was going to be very difficult to end without further injury. Sweat dripped into his eyes and the young farmhand swept the brim of his hat down over his brow.

Hopefully Howard or Grady would get here soon enough to help him end this.

.

.

_Author's Note: I heard you all loud and clear about Cam and Lillian- I have not shown those two enough (I felt that way too honestly, but since they are also my favorite paring I wanted to give Kana a chance with the story first, so that's what happened). Originally Cam was going to take on Kana during this chapter until I realized that- it's a Monday! And Cam is off being mysterious every Monday and so is not in town right now! Darn my non-journalistic integrity! However, Ash's weapon suits him perfectly and this fight does allow me to show off some of the skill the villagers posses that has so far kept them alive in the ongoing war._

_About the debate of romance versus conflict in the story- well I can give up neither and have decided that I will perpetuate both! Though unfortunately I can't make the villages fast friends right away for the sake of how serious the conflict is, so romances across border lines will be arguably stunted in the beginning._

_As always, I read all of your reviews and appreciate each one, thank you guys for taking the time to read my first real story ever- it lights me up a bit to step forward one chapter at a time._

_Go, Ash! I really like that kid, but he's hard to write for for some reason..._

_-_L


	30. Chapter 30: Blood in Bluebell

.

The botanist in blue continued her cautious tip toe ever closer to the base of the mountain on entirely the wrong side.

Not one to second guess herself, Reina knew with conviction that she was going in the right direction. In the half hour or so it had been since she'd passed what she knew to be the scrimmage line, she'd seen more of the steps of kids her age going to mid mountain and back again (most likely the crowd from Bluebell) but far more telling were the prints on top. A single pair of tracks next to an unseated horse had gone alone in the same direction she was heading.

It had to be Kana- he was supposed to be back patrolling the Kono side, but with this much activity in the last hour or so, the young girl guessed he was either on a special assignment from Ina or he had gotten in over his head on something.

Knowing him it may as well be both.

Step by step her flat velvet shoes guided her along the quiet pathways, until she approached the entrance to the other village. She slipped a pale hand into her satchel and withdrew a rock the size of a peach, fitting it into her forked sling as she advanced. He dark eyes flitted from one shadow to the next in her normal caution. She never really felt safe, so this day was like any other day for her so far.

Absentmindedly, she wondered if someone was going to end up dead today. There weren't any over-the-line conflicts she knew of that ended without someone being killed or coming up missing.

_Maybe it'll be my turn_.

She allowed a calming breath to run through her before she stepped past the cover of the canopy overhead. All too soon a familiar voice sounded out ahead- this is where he went after all.

Without being able to hear the words, she could tell he was fighting someone, sounded like a similar weapon, long and thin with a heavy end. Ash, most likely.

And if Ash was on the front line then that meant that he was it, the entire Bluebell defense. There was no way Cam or Howard would allow him take on Kana alone.

Her hand tightened around the rock as she approached.

_The two of us can end this easily_, she thought.

…

Monday- why of all days on a Monday!

Laney dashed around the cafe counter calling loudly, but where was her father today? She took the stairs up two at a time and then back down to the cellar at breakneck speed- Howard was nowhere to be found.

As for Cam, well he was far away from town one day a week- the only day the village lifted the traveling ban for him so he could visit his extended family or source flora for his stand.

Monday.

If there was anyone who could halt Kana's advance in a few decisive blows, it would have been Cam and Howard.

Should she get Rutger then?

Rutger... well, he was becoming more and more soft by the day and she knew his heart wasn't really in the war anymore, not even for defense.

Breathless and all too aware of the situation, Laney darted back outside. Looking for people like this was going to take far too long.

Mid run through the town she stopped, realizing what she had just run past.

She pivoted on her heal and changed course- how could she forget?!

The animal statue represented much more than their economy, independence or goodwill. It represented the war itself.

Three larger-than-life figures rose from the cobblestones imposing themselves over Bluebell and reaching towards the sky above her. An adorably ambling cow with a curious sheep poised delicately on its back and a sniffing pig on top of that were painted in vibrancy, a celebration of life itself.

Anyone who didn't belong here would never know they held a secret function.

Animals could be relied upon when ever the Harvest goddess couldn't be. When neighbors and friends had betrayed and children had been lost, the animals were always reliably the same. The forms reminded the people of Bluebell where their salvation lied.

It had almost become sacrilegious, Laney thought, slipping her foot into a depression behind a small fake rock at the base of the metal cow and hearing a deep _click_.

But true to its design, the statue would serve its purpose in her time of need.

A narrow door in the side of the cow facing the town hall swung open with a heavy creak. It was only a few steps into darkness as the statue was hollow on the inside and she reached her hand out blindly, stopping when she felt the coarse threads of a thick rope.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled with her entire body weight, and groaning above her the heavy iron of the town's alarm bell began to dip, until a resounding gong gave out.

She pulled again and again, straining even to wake the dead if it were possible.

Kana was not going to have his way today.

…

The sound of a bell rang out over Bluebell, setting a tree full of birds alight in a darting frenzy.

Reina froze in her advance despite herself.

She checked her memory briefly- but, no, none of the villagers from this side were out foraging right now on the normal pathways and there was no evidence of recent exploration. _Even if I haven't been here in a while, I can tell that much_. _I'm sure those recent tracks belong to Kana, who was the last person to pass through here_.

That ruled out their carpenter, with her strawberry hair and sharp-edged axes.

There should be no one behind them to form encirclement.

Watching from shadow she could see their lone defender Ash, dripping in red but looking a bit relieved at hearing the bell. His hope gave him the energy he needed to rally himself, and the battle was looking more deadlocked than ever. Even bleeding from several different cuts and gashes, he was starting to hold his ground against Kana, who was decidedly stronger and more effective in combat.

Come to think of it, it looked like Kana had had many opportunities to sever the boy's life- so why hadn't he?

What the heck was going on?

Either Ash had rallied, or Kana was being uncharacteristically gentle with him. But if that was the alarm bell, then Reina knew they didn't have time for whatever game this was.

Just as the boy warded off a right lunge and raised his pitchfork over his chest aiming straight out for a thrust, the small girl in pale blue launched her first stone. It impacted off the back of his hand and echoed in a loud crack.

_Broken_.

The young rancher dropped his weapon and dodged back a step, holding his hand instinctively to his chest. His breath came ragged with exhaustion.

Satisfied that he wasn't a threat for the moment, Reina joined Kana at his side- who looked over her in surprise.

"Where did you come from?" He demanded.

She took the opportunity to size him up. A deep red hue came from the right side of his tunic, looking like it came from a deep wound that didn't seem to be slowing him down.

"Do you want me to go back?" She countered coolly.

He shook his head and stepped back to dodge a paltry blow from Ash, who was apparently not going to let the loss of a hand slow him down today.

The young man was seething in anger and would not be ignored. Eyes the color of sea glass winked away sweat, heated to boiling. "You're really trying my patience!" He growled, quickening his next attack desperately. "I'm not giving you any more warnings, Kana- Retreat or face the consequences!"

Kana rolled his eyes and addressed Reina instead. "Just-"

He parried a blow- "With both of us here it looks-" Another impact forced even Reina to sidestep, her eyes never left Kana's face. The tall Konohana native stopped talking under the next strike, the tip of his spear arching gold in the air of a rapid parry. Ash swept downwards with expert handling despite the swelling that was starting to show on his leading hand and caught the other's spear again. It must have been one of his most common techniques.

_But it's effective_, Kana thought with frustration, twisting it free after too many seconds.

"Looks like what?" Reina interrupted his thoughts.

"They're going to think we're an invading force!" He tossed the words over his shoulder.

"And we're not?"

"What? No!"

"Then what are you doing over the line?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" Ash interjected. The pitchfork stabbed down into Kana's toes but he shuffled his feet at the last second, jumping just barely out of the way. It was becoming more difficult to predict what the kid would do next as he was getting more and more provoked. His strikes were becoming fiercer, instinctive. Kana stepped forward on the next stroke and locked his spear near the kid's face. He pushed down towards those clear, blue eyes, widened in pain-

Reina stepped back out of the way where the boys were deadlocked, fitting another stone. She pointed Ash's face right between the tines of her sling and raised her voice.

"I won't miss, you will die if I let this fly," she warned. "Calm down and lower your weapon."

Ash just shook his head, creased his forehead in determination. He worked his shoulders to the point of pain to turn the length of his pitchfork against the other. With a charged yell of effort he was able to put Kana just enough off balance to force him back a step, and into the path of Reina's view as they struggled.

Reina moved to reassert herself-

\- and two small silver blades came whipping at them from the left.

The ebony-haired botanist was barely able to dodge when the one aimed for her came flashing out of the corner of her eye.

Kana was not so lucky and the second blade caught him squarely in the back, to the side of his spine and sunk in at and upwards angle. He cried out in surprise and fell to one knee.

That made for two deep wounds.

Ash immediately maneuvered the weapon away from his opponent and pinned him with his side to the cobblestones so he could pose no further threat. To make his victory clear, he placed his boot on Kana's side, applying stress to the wound.

_That should make him give up_, he thought with some approval at the other's hissed intake of breath. _Shows you to underestimate me based on age_.

Reina pivoted to the source of the daggers, and who was standing at the entrance to Tales Farm, flare of hair catching flame in the streaks of open sun above, but Georgia.

.

.

_Author's Note: More is in the works. Sorry to those Ash lovers who think he's being too violent- but he's human like everyone else, and if he doesn't win, he may die, you know? Trying to be realistic. And you know, poor Kana keeps getting the short end of the stick and all. heh._


	31. Chapter 31: Are you an idiot?

.

Lillian hadn't taken long in making herself comfortable in her brother's kitchen. Even though the meal was finished and the picnic technically ended, she insisted on refilling her canteen with hot tea to take back for Kana.

After all, he was probably pretty upset with her about the whole "being-abandoned-by-his-captive-who-just-wanted-to-sup-with-the-enemy" thing. But when was he going to learn that the towns didn't want to fight- these people were harmless!

She inwardly rolled her eyes. _Enemies_…?

Looking over to where Geo and Phillip sat talking quietly she thought, _If they were so full of hatred they wouldn't have accepted us like this, on either side_.

Her plan was going to work.

"So you didn't always live here?" Phillip was asking when his sister came back into the room.

"Naw, unless running a lodge a day's travel from here counts. We did that before my ma left, when I was young." The girl's amber eyes softened in recollection. "The folks from the twin towns always used to stop by… they were really nice people." She shrugged, and a few locks of curly hair spilled over her shoulder. "'fore we got to really know 'em." She muttered as an afterthought. "But mostly we'd get city folk for the skiing. It wasn't 'till we move again that…"

Her voice trailed off, and Phillip found himself searching her face. "That what?" He prompted.

"Well, we moved somewhere real nice- 'bout a week away. That's where I picked up my accent from, in case you thought it was- weird."

"I like your accent," Lillian remarked, restacking the food so they could get going.

Georgia shrugged again. "No one asked you to."

Lillian just looked at her with some exasperation.

"I- I mean you don't have to pretend, and I've gotten used to it. Even here in the country it's not great to stand out… so much." She stammered.

Phillip laughed lightly. "Well to us city folks it's cute."

She stared at him for a few seconds, finally choosing to frown. "No it isn't!" and was greeted with a tilt of the head.

"Why not?"

"Because it _ain't_!" She lapsed again, practically shoving past Lillian to get out the door first. "Cute- ha! You must think I'm …gah!"

And the twins shared a snicker in stereo. But it was obvious something had changed in the girl, because a moment down the path and she'd turned, a very small yet very real shy smile was on her face. "Hey- maybe on the way back we go to one of my favorite spots-" she smiled a little wider when Phillip caught up to her and reflected her expression back at her- "P-pay ya back for the food an' all…"

"Sounds great." He said agreeably, then turned over his shoulder. "Coming, Lil?"

"Just a sec!" Said a voice from inside. "I left the eggs you gave me in the- fridge and they aren't easy to get a hold of at-"

She was interrupted by the sound of a resounding clang, like a bell. It sounded, twice- then three times in quick succession, overtaking everything with a nervous violence. From the pasture Phillip's young cow looked over at him as if he could explain it, grass staining her muzzle a messy green.

"What time is it supposed to be?" Came Lillian's voice from inside the house.

Phil couldn't answer. He'd felt a tightening in his chest he was unable to explain, until he looked down and saw that Georgia had grabbed the red cotton of his shirt tightly in her fist.

"Geo…?" He asked.

"The minute I turn my back." She hissed, racing down the path. As she ran Phillip could see she was pulling something from the pouch at her side that flashed silver in the sunlight.

Lillian's voice called from behind, still inside the house while he stood there, frozen. "What did she say it was?" She appeared at the door, a stack of covered dishes in her arm, one hand on the door to steady herself.

"Lock up!" He commanded, tossing the keys to his sister and taking off after the redhead.

Her lilac eyes went wide as she fumbled to catch them. "Hang on, I'm coming too!"

…

By the time Phillip had caught up to the entrance of his farm he almost forgot to stop running out of shock.

True, he had wondered about the wisdom in his sister's decision to step over the line for a few hours, but to think… there'd be consequences like _this_.

A struggle seemed too simple a word when more people were gathering by the moment, most of which he knew. Ash, standing over someone, or someone's body. A small dark-haired girl he didn't recognize was backing away, being cornered, her expression that of an animal's. Howard, running up from the side, Laney in tow (she was staying several yards out of the way), and Grady. Georgia blocking part of his view, holding a knife in front of her face like a shield.

So that's what she was drawing from her bag as she ran. Weapons. That bell had been a call to fight.

In another second Howard was working with Ash to pick up the body, hanging limp and lifeless as they moved it.

The flash of a horse's flank streaked by as it took off towards the forest, abandoning its rider.

_Hayate_, Phillip realized with a sharp intake of breath. Ash wouldn't, would he? Have killed him?

He was snapped out of his reverie when a large rock went arching past his head and he was forced to dodge it. The girl with black hair- who was she?

Whoever she was, Georgia was going after her next, and she deflected the following rock with her knife, retaliating by letting it fly.

Her aim was true but the girl was long gone- hopping onto the horse as it fled.

A few seconds ticked heavily by, feeling like an hour.

_Is it over…?_

He felt wind at his side and a gasp of shock, Lillian had arrived just in time to stand teetering, hands over her mouth.

"Kana…?" She took a step forward and Phillip reached out, catching her wrist.

"I don't know if you can help him." He warned her in a low voice, heart thumping in his chest. "You aren't supposed to be here either."

She shook off his hand and went to the scene anyways- just in time for Phillip to hear a phrase he didn't know he'd been dreading: "Spy! She came to spy on us!"

It was Ash, leaning on his pitchfork pointing at her, hands shaking in anger as blood trickled off of his face and slapped the ground.

Before Phillip knew what was going on his sister was being hauled away by Grady, a look of numb shock on her face.

Again her eyes met his and he was reminded of a day not too long ago that felt like a year, when she'd flown out of his life and into the deathly silence of the forest.

He was not going to lose her again.

But as desperation quickened his breath and clawed at his heart he thought, W_hat if I can do nothing about it?_

…

How had this happened?

Lillian woke up on a creaky cot in what looked like a giant crate.

Hazy and tired, her mind worked to piece together the events of the previous day.

Lunch on the mountain, time spent at Tales farm… That's right; Kana had come after her and ended up fighting someone… _Dusty or Ash or something. Ash,_ _I think._

Her eyes were still closed from a fitful sleep, but for some reason she was afraid to open them even as she knew what happened had not been a dream. The more that came back to her the more she realized where this was and the more she began to regret her decision to stay on the mountain.

The people here were beyond help.

Again she wondered what it had been like for Phillip and this time the thought brought a wry smile to her face. He'd probably ended up exactly where she was now.

A heavy breath to the side caught her attention and she let her eyes open to face reality.

Or in this case, her fellow captive.

"Hey," Kana greeted with an uncharacteristic frown from the cell next to hers. He was laying on his side and she could see a white bandage standing out against the dark skin of his stomach. His shirt was crumpled up in the corner, but even without it, it was hard to tell the extent of the damage Ash's pitchfork had done.

The pallor of his face said enough. He was lucky to be alive.

"Hi." Was all she could whisper.

"So I'm guessing that you weren't kidnapped after all?" Irony was thick in his shaky voice.

"Didn't you get the note?" Lillian asked as casually as she could possibly manage.

But he just shook his head and gave a dark chuckle, the depth of his voice reverberating around the nearly empty room their cells were in. She noted with some chagrin that he was avoiding looking her in the eye. "You're crazy, girl. Did you think your brother could protect you if you came over here? He's an outsider to them too."

"I didn't think-"

Another deep breath, as if summoning the energy to speak "Yeah. You didn't think."

She clenched a fist into her skirt. "Well I'm sorry but I had no idea you guys would start _killing_ each other over the location of a picnic lunch!" She bit out. "Why did you- if it was this bad with Bluebell, why did you come here? Are you an idiot?"

His brandy brown eyes narrowed in anger, and she immediately clamped her mouth shut with her hand. He was wounded, she wasn't. He had followed the rules of their truce, she hadn't.

"I'm sorry…" She mumbled into her palm so that he had to strain to hear it. "If I had known… what would happen to you…"

He shrugged, wincing slightly. "I can't tell you what they all think over here, you know? It's like, a different world, Lil."

She nodded, shivering.

She got up and went over to the side of her cell, putting her face in between the bars to get closer to Kana, who was in his own. "How bad is it?" She asked, her tiny voice echoing in the cellar around them.

He shrugged again, deciding in a moment that she didn't need to know the truth. "Missed my organs. At least, the ones I need to keep."

The joke was wasted on her completely and she suppressed another shiver. "How do you know that?"

"Because I lived longer than half an hour."

She took a moment to absorb that, and when she opened her mouth to say something else, instead her eyes blurred over and she lowered her head, letting her hair cover her face.

"Don't look at me like that. Hey- Lil-" Kana tried, but she was silent so long that eventually he fell silent, not knowing what to say himself.

Before long he began to fall asleep, still exhausted, and Lillian was free to properly berate herself. For a long time she sat, her knuckles gripping the bars until there was no feeling in them left, and wondered what was going to happen now, and what she was supposed to do.

But she felt too powerless, and the only echo in her soul said _nothing, you can do nothing anymore… you've tried everything you could think of, and that was never going to be enough._


	32. Chapter 32: Just Another Day

Chapter 32: Just another Day

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A young man worked diligently, artfully trimming and dressing a spray of blond marguerites in a vase. The white pearls of baby's breath floated on the side, adding just the right touch of dignity to an otherwise spontaneous flower as the beginning of a beautiful arrangement.

He reached to the side for a cherry colored blossom to accent it, and stopped- it would be far too ostentatious that way.

_Accent color… accent color...maybe go a different route with this one?_

The white of a cherry blossom was too white; the pink ones were not all open enough. There were still a few snowdrops from winter whose stamens would add a touch of color, but they were too old now.

And for some reason the display he'd put together was too innocent looking, and before he knew it was dismantled and he found himself starting over.

Cam stretched his long arms over his head and decided to take a break. He went out to the kitchen and put some tea on, eyes refocusing in the dimmer morning light.

A few moments later, cup steaming, he settled at the counter with a small plate of cheese trying to place the feeling he had. He wasn't sure at what point in the morning he'd come to realize that something was very wrong, but it was quickly becoming more obvious. Everyone in Bluebell had habits, schedules that allowed them to feel safe. Howard was no exception, and usually the large man would be out of bed and tip-toeing around upstairs getting ready by now.

Laney would be ready already (as she was the type to be completely unable to sleep in), and up baking bread.

Customarily awake before anyone else, Cam was in his studio working, and usually he would do so in the clamor of a shop that was opening for the day's business. He had become great at tuning out the outside sounds of a busy kitchen, but now without it, he found himself unable to focus.

Just as he was starting to sip his tea, a loud slam came from the upper level and Laney, hair sticking out in all the wrong places, came bounding down the stairs two steps at a time. She was wearing her pajamas, a sensible two-piece in tan, cream and white that for some reason made Cam think his display idea might have worked after all.

He watched with some bemusement as she began to flit around the kitchen at twice her normal speed, firing up the oven, pulling trays of dough, and getting utensils lined up on the counter.

She barely noticed him, and half of his tea was gone by the time she paused to look around herself.

Even when she did focus on him, she merely blinked in mild surprise and asked him to hand her one of the copper pots from under the bar.

The normal Laney would have realized she was still in her nightclothes and rushed red-faced back upstairs to finish getting ready.

Something was going on for sure.

Taking another sip and setting down his thin blue china cup, he asked her the obvious question. "Did you oversleep?"

She paused, hand full of flour and poised over a tray of bread dough, and blinked again. "I dozed off." She said as if that explained everything, then went back to flouring the counter and kneading out a lump of dough.

"Does your dad know you're late with prep work? Would you like my help?" He offered.

She sighed, "That would be great."

He rinsed his cup out in the sink and washed up- taking over the pasta machine to cut out enough spaghetti for the lunch menu. They worked in silence for the next forty-five minutes until everything was caught up, and Cam was able to convince Laney to go get ready herself.

It didn't register until she was heading back upstairs that she said she'd dozed off, not slept in late. That implied that she was awake for most of the night…

In another moment he was unable to worry about it because Laney stopped climbing the stairs and suddenly turned back to face him.

"Cam," She said in a serious tone, her clear eyes narrow.

"Y-yeah?" He repressed the urge to step back at the look on her face.

"Wait to go to the basement, okay? I want to explain everything properly first."

"Everything. What's everything?" He asked quietly. When she looked away quickly, everything fell into place. "Who's down there?"

She shook her head. "I just- I'll go get ready and we can-"

But he was already heading to the door of the basement; half a level above their cellar that housed a large wine collection, all of the café's barreled spirits and shelves of tinned tea and burlap-bagged sugar. It was clear on the other side of the stone foundation that the actual cells were: six steel barred structures that had been built decades ago when the café was primarily the town jail.

An image of Howard's father, the previous sheriff, came readily to mind, but was snatched away when Laney appeared at his side, blocking the door with her body. "Wait!"

"Laney, what are you doing?" He asked as patiently as he could. "You told me not to go; of course it means what's below is going to upset me, and I have to. I'm not waiting, but you can tell me what I'm walking in to."

Again her gaze shifted away. "Lillian's down there." She said quietly. "And also-"

"Also?"

"And… Kana…"

A glimmer came over his clear emerald eyes, which hardened immediately. "How?" He whispered, then shook his head. "No. Nevermind… is that why Howard isn't here?"

She nodded. "He's negotiating with Rutger. Dad wants first crack at him. So don't go doing anything, no one's decided."

He looked down at her worried expression. "All I need are a few words." He said, shouldering past her.

"Are you going to be okay going down there yourself?" She asked.

He smiled lightly back at her. "Yeah of course I will. Thank you for telling me." She nodded, gave a backwards glance, and headed back upstairs to get ready for the day.

Cam took a deep breath and descended into the darkness.

…

Ash loved being out in the fields with his animals. The scents, smells and signs of spring that would overwhelm everything and force calm into the heart- there was no other season like it. He would throw himself into his work, spreading hay, cleaning stalls, putting out feed: he loved every part of it. The animals each had their own personalities and would show their thanks in different ways. After a long winter of being huddled together and not seeing much sun, they would stretch their limbs and become playful. That was always the most rewarding- an animal never seemed to have a personality until its needs were being met. Once it had warmth, shelter, food and companionship it would start to act as it wished, and he would be with it every step of the way.

_It's spring, for goodness' sake! I should be enjoying myself! But without the use of my hand, well…_

The young ranch hand with hair the color of caramel looked down from under his brown plaid hat at his left and predominant hand, tightly wrapped, and sighed.

Not that he couldn't still sweep and do minor things, but… this was really starting to put a damper on his enjoyment. He couldn't take care of his family, his town this way. He couldn't even pick up Cheryl!

"Ash, where does the extra hay go, when it doesn't fit above the barn?" A voice came from above him.

Then there was _this_ guy.

"There's a storage building to the side of this one. I can show you." He called back up to Phillip, with as much civility as he could manage.

He heard the shuffling of a few more bales being placed above, then the top of an auburn head appeared again over the side of the causeway from the second floor. "We're done with this part then, right?"

Ash just nodded.

"Alright, I'm coming back down."

_And why don't you leave right after that?_ He thought.

But instead he ended up accepting the young man's help further to place the rest of the bales in the side building, then the two of them somehow were brushing animals together.

"Really, Phillip. I've got this. You can head back to Tales Farm," He said for the third time.

Phillip just shook his head. "How are you gonna milk them one-handed? I'll just stay until that's done- besides, I have less animals than you and all of my own work is finished already."

Ash ground his teeth. He was becoming more frustrated with himself that he wasn't able to be mean to Phillip. The other hadn't even brought up the subject of yesterday or tried to defend his sister's or Kana's actions at all, he'd just shown up early this morning with a bucket of his animal tools and announced he'd be helping out until Ash's hand was better.

Of course his mother thought this was the greatest thing in the world and agreed right away. And Ash was the last person to talk back, so immediately he was swept up in project 'help Ash with farm work'.

He wasn't an invalid! He sighed, too loudly, and the other looked up.

"It bothers you that I'm here." Phillip stated.

Ash frowned. _Of course it does_. "Doesn't matter." He said instead.

"Well I appreciate it."

That did it. Ash finally raised his voice. "You appreciate being able to do _my work for me?_"

Phillip stopped and stood up from the cow he had been brushing, patting her on the side. "I know it sounds weird-"

"Not weird- stupid. You are stupid. The stupidest person I've ever met!"

Phillip suppressed a smile. Now was not the time to start laughing at people. But what was he, twelve? Seriously, was he twelve? He had a very little frame. "How old are you?" He asked before he could think better of it.

"I'll be sixteen in four days- and I don't want to hear it!" Ash was yelling now. "When I say you're stupid what I mean is, you coming here with two weeks of experience is not going to help in any way- you don't know the first thing about taking care of animals. You don't feel bad about my hand or you would've apologized, and I'm not going to take back what I said about Lillian. She may be your sister but she still came over here to spy on us- how else did Kana find out that it's the one day of the week when Cam is away!?"

Phillip just stared and let the silence hang for a moment, thinking. "I'm not responsible for your hand." He said cautiously. "Neither is Lillian. And why would Kana care that Cam is away once a week?"

"Hah!" Ash scoffed. "Why wouldn't he? You know by now that Cam is one of our best fighters, don't you? He's one of the few we have that can stand up against Kana or Mako without being injured- or killed. We don't have a lot of defenses, not anymore. If we're to stay sovereign as the town of Bluebell then we have to-" Ash cut himself off, abruptly. Phillip was standing there, absorbing everything he said, and here he was, blathering about their weaknesses.

_I am such an idiot_… "And what do you care anyways? You're still an outsider. So drop the brush, quit pretending you care, and leave." He finished.

"I'll stay." Was all Phillip said before he went back to brushing, ignoring Ash completely, and it made Ash want to hit him.


	33. Chapter 33: This Is Bluebell!

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Two of the six cells were occupied, as he had been told. The ragged breathing from the one on the left made it obvious that Kana wasn't doing well- he needed to get proper medical treatment, but Cam doubted anyone was going to bother. He hadn't had time to ask Laney what had happened, but he could hazard a guess.

He went to the cell on the right, first, carefully looking until his eyes focused in the near dark. That should be where Lillian was.

But the bed was empty and it's single, thin blanket tucked in tight to the folding spring mattress, it looked like any other empty cell would.

After a moment of scanning around, he was finally able to make her out, a small figure asleep leaning against the bars on the left side. One hand gripped the bars and her face was pressed against it, leaning at an angle that looked very uncomfortable. She must have been exhausted, to fall asleep here like that.

Well if there was anything he was sure of it was that she posed no threat to Bluebell. How she ended up here was beyond him. He made a quick decision and grabbed the brushed metal key off of the wall, opening the lock of her cell with a loud _click_.

She didn't wake up at that, so he stole in quietly and crouched down next to her. "Lillian." He said into the darkness. "Wake up."

Nothing. He tapped her shoulder.

Nothing. He pressed a fingertip to her cheek, slowly…

"Ah!" She woke with a start and straightened her back, clonking him in the chin with her forehead. Cam fell backwards onto one hand, and she grabbed her head. "Ouch."

"Ugh, right." Cam stood up and held a hand out to her, but she stared up at him dumbly.

"What- what's going on?"

"You don't belong in here is what's going on." He replied. "Come on. You can tell me what happened upstairs." She took his hand and got up, looking over to the other cell guiltily. "But what about Kana?" She asked in a little, worried voice.

Cam snorted. "HE belongs here." He said, locking the door after her and taking her hand to lead her back up the stairs.

…

"I'll join the army." Phillip said, as if to himself. "I'll join up- then you'll know you can trust me. It's not fair that you all are risking your life to keep this town safe, and I'm not, so I want to do my part. It's just-"

"Just what?" Rutger drawled.

"Do something for Lillian now. She had nothing to do with Kana following her, she didn't know he would. I would've stopped her visiting if I knew what it would mean for you all, please believe me."

"Even if it meant you'd never see your sister again?" Howard's deep voice sounded in the small room above the town hall where the mayor and his wife resided. "How are we going to believe that?"

"W-well, I suppose I'd have to accept that I can see her once a week, at the contest."

"No, we have a better idea."

Phillip swallowed the lump in this throat but the chill of Howard's tone remained suspended above them in the air. "What's that?" He asked, finding his voice.

"Simple!" Exclaimed Howard, knotting his hands together in delight. "She will become a spy! Our spy…"

_No! Lillian…_

"And… Kana? What happens to him?" Phillip put his hands together under the table so they couldn't betray his nerves. He was shaking.

"He doesn't need a trial- he's going to die." Howard announced, smile still spread out on his face.

Phillip made every effort not to look him in the beady eye.

_Monster_… He thought.

"That's not decided yet." Rutger said from the side, frowning.

Howard's tone changed to become challenging, demanding. "Not decided yet? I will have revenge for my wife." It was a statement, as if Rutger had no power to stop him.

"Howard, not a day goes by that I don't think of my sons. Not one. Rose and I visit their graves near the entrance to town- every evening. I know your loss is great." He began.

"But your sons died honorably, in battle- my wife was made a _sacrifice_!" Howard stood abruptly, knocking the table and all of its contents over in the process.

Phillip, startled, found himself on his feet and two steps back. "Was Kana the one who killed her?" He asked.

"Kana did nothing to stop it!" The large baker shouted.

"Wasn't he a kid then- this is madness, to make him pay for it!" Phillip was surprised to find himself shouting back now. Why he'd ended up defending Kana was beyond him, but wrong was wrong. For some reason, the craziness of this conversation made him realize- they wouldn't stop at killing Kana. This feud would be going on for another whole generation.

Rutger rose too, seeming unaffected by Howard's outburst. "We won't make him pay for what he hasn't done. Phillip, you must understand that Kana has killed our people. He is no innocent in this. My third son, Reggie… fell by his hand. I have reason to believe that he is responsible for one of the others. There is evidence enough to slay him without a trial. Do you understand?"

Phillip stood there, hands clenched at his side. What was he supposed to say to this? He drew in another unsteady breath. "Kana… I don't really like him." He began. "I hate the fact that he's the one keeping my sister from freely seeing me. He's possessive and doesn't think clearly about his actions."

Howard crossed his thick arms over his chest, starting at Phillip without belief.

"But- he's passionate. You can use that to your advantage."

Rutger flipped the table back over and sat again, calmly accepting a new tea cup from his wife.

"Rutger…" She said gently from the side.

"I know, Rose. Go ahead and attend the town hall please. I can't have you be upset by this." She nodded and hurried to leave.

"Sit back down, lad." Rutger addressed Phillip, whose breath was coming in more steadily as he'd begun to form a plan. "Howard."

"I can't believe you're willing to listen to this spoiled brat."

"I'm not spoiled, I'm an orphan." Phillip corrected sharply. "And unless you're willing to risk Laney becoming one too, I suggest you hear me out on this. Do you want the war to continue?"

Howard sat slowly, black eyes boring into Phillip's. "This had better be good, kid."

"It will be a start. Whether or not it is good, relies on you too."

…

Lillian demandingly eyed the sweet roll Cam had placed on a little plate in front of her, somehow upset that it smelled so amazing. It changed her thoughts to her stomach, which made her feel weak in the face of what was going on. After a few seconds of wrestling with her hunger and her anger at Bluebell, she decided that the sweet roll had won, and immediately discovered that she was not going to regret her decision.

Cam watched her silently, setting a cup in front of her and occasionally rising to check on the rest of the items rotating in the oven. She wondered if he could tell she was struggling not to eat the whole thing in one bite.

But it made her nervous to be stared at.

After she'd eaten the last bite and started sipping the tea, Cam folded his hands in front of him on the table and took a deep breath.

"Are you feeling a bit better now?"

She nodded. He took in the way she looked now- not disheveled so much as tired, her hair was messy but still somehow very becoming. But the thing that stood out the most were the two red indents that ran from her forehead down to her cheeks on either side- marks left from sleeping against the cell bars. It would be rude to mention it, though, and they were starting to fade. But it was endearing: she looked like a little kid who had been up too late, got into a mess and now was sulking about being punished.

Still… how had she ended up below? Knowing her, she'd decided to visit. Knowing Kana, he'd… well why was Kana here? The fact that they were both here wasn't good for either of them. It looked like she's joined up with the offensive, on the other side.

If he hadn't spent the last few days with her and Phillip at lunch and seen the kind of person she was, he might've believed she was here for a suspicious purpose.

But she never would, she just wasn't the type. He didn't know why he knew it, but for some reason he felt like he'd known her and Phillip forever and knew they wouldn't start something violent. Finish it, maybe. But never start it.

Maybe it was one stray to another?

It was the same with lost animals. The ones that grew up with everything were more haughty and assuming. The ones who'd grown up with little to nothing tended to be humble, thankful for shelter, and giving.

He'd always preferred strays. After all he felt like one himself.

Lillian had been like that. So much like one of the stray cats that always seemed to find him, she was friendly and over-reaching. Kind to a fault. The day of the first meeting at the conflict line he had eaten in advance, planning merely to guard the border while she and her brother ate.

She was so mad about it! That he didn't want to eat the food she made 'for everyone'. She'd insisted, gotten into his space, asked pleadingly with big eyes.

No, somebody open like that wouldn't turn around and act destructively. No way.

She wasn't so difficult to figure out, after all. He was willing to bet that visiting Bluebell was just some forbidden adventure to her.

Although it was wholly possible that he was just a pushover for pleadingly big eyes. And hers were sort of…

Lillian watched the vague expressions flicker across Cam's face as they sat in the café, trying not to be irritated with him.

_Why was he smirking like that…? _"Cam."

He blinked.

"What were you doing yesterday?" She asked.

_Wait. Shouldn't that question be in reverse?_ "What was _I_ doing?" He repeated.

She nodded. "You could have stopped him. Kana, I mean. You would have stopped _me_, and I never would've gone to Bluebell in the first place- I thought everyone here was nice!"

"You thought we were nice." He took a moment and watched her lilac eyes swim with regret, wondering why it was bothering him so much. "What makes you think we aren't nice?"

She opened her mouth to speak- and froze.

It sounded like someone was pounding down the stairs with a rage.

A pretty, angry-looking blond girl stood on the stairs, hair up in a gorgeous golden bun made up of small braids. Her eyes, a more hazel green than Cam's emerald shone in shock. "Cam, what are you doing?" She demanded.

Cam met her hostile tone with a gracious smile. "Have you met Lillian yet?" He asked.

"What- Have I met her- that's why I told you not to go down into the cellar without me. She needs to go back; you don't know what happened yesterday. She's-" The girl looked Lillian full in the face- "A spy, sent to lead him in!"

Cam chuckled and shook his head. "She's not. I'm sure she isn't. Lillian, can you tell us your side of the story?"

"I'm sorry," Lillian said. "But what's your name? I didn't hear it yesterday."

Laney's eyes narrowed and her voice was cautious. "I'm Laney."

"Laney- thanks for stitching up Kana's side, last night. I know it wasn't easy for you, I don't know why you hate him so much, but I could tell you would have rather let him… let him die." She said in an anxious whisper.

Laney frowned, a light blush creeping over her cheeks. "He wouldn't die in Bluebell because of negligence. But- I'm not going to lie to you. There isn't a person in this town who wouldn't feel better if he did die."

Lillian looked at her helplessly.

"Myself included." The blond girl finished.

Lillian found herself glancing at Cam, who only raised an eyebrow under the brim of his wide hat.

So he felt that way too.

Was there going to be no way out of this?

"He didn't mean to come here yesterday- I'm really sorry. It's my fault because he's in charge of knowing where I am." She smiled in self-loathing. "You know the feeling, don't you Cam?"

Cam didn't say anything, but his green eyes were boring into her, rooting her to the spot and she couldn't stop there.

"If my brother decided to cross that line and you felt he were in danger… would you have followed him into Konohana?"

Laney started laughing despite herself. "No he wouldn't! If your brother wants to go get himself involved, let him go by himself."

"So Phillip is not important to you." Lillian answered for her and Laney shut her mouth, looking suddenly upset.

The insurgent farmer with the chestnut hair continued on resolutely. "Both towns are equally guilty. You say peace is important, but neither of you will let us go. We're all each other has. But when I go to visit my only brother, this is my reward. The first person to truly be my friend in that town pays the price for me. How are either of us- supposed to live like this?" And before Lillian knew hot tears were spilling down her face and falling into her tea where she lowered her head.

She felt stupid, crying like that in front of them. But she was so angry.

Laney had heard enough too. "I was on my way walking towards the town gate to ah, ship something when Kana arrived. Lillian you were with Phillip at the time and Georgia was too, right?"

Cam looked over sharply. "Geo left the line?"

"She was with us." Lillian said, raising her head. "We were at my brother's farm. I- I said I wanted to see it. Georgia couldn't stop Phillip and me both."

"Yes, well you should know that your friend- that _Kana_\- assaults people before bothering to ask any questions. The moment he saw me after entering Bluebell he attacked me- I was afraid for my life!"

Lillian winced at the tone the other girl was using. "But he just followed me because he thought I had been kidnapped by someone here."

"And who would want you here?" Laney exclaimed, slapping her hand down on the table. "Why would we need to kidnap you- tell me why!"

Lillian looked at her in disbelief. "Tell my brother why. He's the one you kidnapped, isn't he? If it doesn't matter then give me my brother back!"

Cam watched the girls bicker, not sure anybody was ever going to win. This was going nowhere.

"Laney. I'm going to take a walk with Lillian; can you go make sure Kana gets something small to eat?"

The girl just started at him. "You must be crazy."

Cam tilted his head. "If you want to keep Kana alive long enough to watch Bluebell get revenge on him you'll get him some water and a piece of bread, at least. Just- don't enter his cell under any circumstance."

"I can't go down there with that lunatic!" She exclaimed, but Cam merely smiled his small smile at her. "You'll be fine. You're a lot stronger than you think you are."

And as he stood, offering his hand to the other girl, Laney felt somehow heartbroken.

On the other hand, was she strong enough to face Kana? Cam's words gave her encouragement after all. There was still time before the café opened, too, so there was no reason not to make the trip down.

He couldn't hurt her, not with his injuries the way they were.

Honestly she was surprised (and a little disappointed) that he'd survived the night.

_He must not have lost enough blood._

She took her time getting a small plate together, pouring a glass of water out and staring at it as if it were full of the answers she sought.

Maybe it was finally time to test herself. _If Cam has faith in me, should I also..._?

She heard the door slam and looked up. Did he forget something?

But the person who stood at the doorway to the café, looking anxiously around, was the opposite of someone she wanted to see right now.

"Laney, are they downstairs?" Phillip asked.

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_Author's note: It's been a while since I've written a note here, how are you all? Still a lot to work out between everyone in the towns, and we're only two weeks into the story (hah). I've probably spent two week's worth of hours just writing it all, so that's ironic. Looking to have a time-skip when it makes sense to, but this story keeps me so interested in how- How- HOW?! I need to see how and if the towns will be united, and it's been important to establish the conflict as legitimate (Sorry, Kana)._

_How am I doing for your favorite character? I know the unlock-able types like Dirk and Mikhail aren't in the story now, but I would like to bring them in. Focusing on so many different people has been fun, but does it bug you guys at all that I'm not focusing on a specific few people?_

_Let me know!_

_~The Frog~_


	34. Chapter 34: I Think So

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Laney merely stared at him, her resolve crumbling. Did she have the strength to face Phillip and Kana both?

She didn't think so.

She took a step to the cellar door, blocking it subconsciously. "Why- what are you doing here?"

But Phillip had already moved towards her, reaching out, and a sudden panic that she couldn't place seized her heart.

"No- don't!" She yelled, cringing.

Phillip stopped, looking like he'd been struck. "Are you afraid of me?" He asked her.

He pulled his hand back and realized with a start that he wasn't sure what he had been planning to do with it in the first place. But the look on Laney's face had been so lonely, without thinking he found himself reaching out to her. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry if I did…"

She shook her head, Lillian's words echoing in her for some reason she couldn't place.

_So Phillip is not important to you._

"You don't scare me. I-I only avoid you because-"

"I'm sorry," He said again, not realizing he'd interrupted her. "But I just saw Howard- your dad, and he told me Kana attacked you? I can't imagine what it was like. Everything happened so fast yesterday that I was unable to see if you were okay. Can you tell me what went on and how it started?"

"I only avoid you because I _do_ care." She said, more to herself as she realized the truth of it.

His grey eyes shifted to hers in surprise. "What did you say?"

As Laney turned to face him evenly, her expression changed. "I said I avoid you because I care about you. Apparently."

Phillip was used to her avoiding eye contact, or making a face when he entered a room. Sometimes she bluntly fled when he arrived at the café. But now, being stared at by her openly, he was somehow becoming uncomfortable and he had no idea what to say. He ended up breaking eye contact first, looking anywhere else.

Having drummed up this much courage, she pressed on. "You have a good heart- you're nice to everyone, and you are far too giving. I keep picturing how you're going to change, being in Bluebell. You'll become cold, compliant, and callous, like everyone else here is, and I won't be able to face you then." She laughed a small laugh. "Not that I can face you, normally."

He looked back at her- wondering. He had never heard her voice like this, seen this expression. Or had he just not really seen her? She had stood out and he noticed her, but only because she was so weird, so open in trying to lie about how she'd hated him. Or didn't. It was hard to keep track. He was amused by her- wasn't that all?

"And I couldn't bear to see a nice guy like you get hurt when you realize that nobody in Bluebell is who you think they are."

He ran a hand through his auburn hair, trying to find words to say in response and laughed nervously. Laney was a lot… stronger than he had given her credit for. His heart was beating too loudly and he felt a sudden and inexplicable urge to escape.

But that was cowardly.

So instead…

Instead, he reached out to her and took her hand, making his heart pound louder than ever in his ears. He was sure she was going to hear it, too. But he didn't want to waste this moment of rare honesty.

He took a step closer, and closed the gap between them, not knowing why he did, and looked down. It was as if he watched someone else do it. Her eyes were clear, unassailable. "You are so unpredictable. Just when I think I know what's going on in your mind and that I've figured everything out, you find a way to make me look at you again. I keep wondering did I go too far, that day in the café, when you obviously wanted to keep me at arm's length."

He took a deep breath. "But then I realize, even if you're running away from me, it's your honest feelings, and those are better than any lie. So, can you do me a favor?"

"I-I can try." She stammered. Her cheeks had gone red the second he touched her.

"If I start to change while I'm here- could you grab my hand like this and bring me back down to Earth with you?"

The blush began to fade into the shyest of smiles that warmed him. "I.. yes, I think so."

He squeezed her hand and let go of it, grinning. "Thanks, Laney. That would mean a lot."

She nodded, surprised at the thrill that ran through her when he said her name. She drew in a long breath until it cooled in her lungs.

"So, can I see my sister?"

They both stepped back as if a spell had been broken, relieved to have distance again.

"Oh, right… her. Um, Cam just took her somewhere. For a walk, he said."

"Hmm." He frowned. "Well, how is Kana doing?"

"I was just… going to take some breakfast to him."

"Great. I'll go with you. That's okay, right?"

Laney decided to go along with it, somehow not as worried anymore. It might even be better if he went with her. "Sure it is, thanks." She smiled shyly.

…

Kana sat up on an elbow with a grimace of difficulty after waking to a draft and the deep, biting ache in his right side.

Puncture wounds weren't particularly comfortable (as the entire right side of his body attested) but this one hadn't exactly been cleaned with care before stitching. The burn that had been building into a molten heat witnessed the truth of what was happening well below his skin's surface: it was becoming infected. A wound like this was also deep enough to bring infections in incredibly close to the bloodstream, but that's wasn't something to worry about in the first day. He hoped.

This was not the first time he had sustained a serious injury, Kana had been brought to the brink of death a few times, and he knew he had a good sixteen hours before a wound like this could seriously debilitate him. He wouldn't let it get out of control.

Also for Lillian's sake, he needed to figure things out and get her safely away from this cursed place, preferably before the next dawn.

He carefully sat up, scanning the darkness of his cell for something he could use. As he rose to get off of the low cot his leg failed him, pulling him to one knee in a jarring impact that echoed- and he looked over to make sure he hadn't woken the other prisoner.

Only… she wasn't there.

Shocked, Kana stood again so fast it made his head swim. He was forced to grab one of the bars for support, eyes tightly shut while the world swam.

Taking deep breaths, he let go of the bar and focused his center of gravity.

_Okay, stable. Awesome._

Now to plan a way out. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Bluebell had only patched him up enough to survive for a public execution, so while town leaders were still high with excitement from catching him and not thinking clearly, he had to get moving, betting everything he had on even a sliver of a chance to escape.

Thankfully these old enclosures weren't built with any wide openings as they were covered only with vertical bars, so food and water couldn't be served without opening the door first. The minute the door was opened he would be free. He could also check the hinges for rust and the bars themselves for loose anchors- concrete over time would wear down, expanding and contracting in heat and cold until under the slightest pressure or absorption of moisture, it would begin to crumble. There was a good chance these cells weren't checked very often for security.

He turned his ear, hearing a quiet screech, like a rising scream from the other side of the cellar. He tensed as a splinter of light spread out over the coldness of the rocky wall on the far end and a door opened, like a rift from another world.

A slender shadow appeared in it, casting itself over the walls and stretching thin, growing as it moved further from the light. With a whimper of protest, the stairs creaked under the growing form as it descended, each step pulling it deeper into the dark.

It took a moment for Kana's breathing to steady as he watched the frame of a small girl descend the stairs with careful tread. Maybe he was worse off than he thought. To be scared by something like that.

He shook his head to clear it, and realized that the shadow was beginning to match the girl from yesterday.

She would be easy enough to overpower again.

As she was halfway down the stair another shadow fell over her back and the difficulty of his task increased twofold.

This was a male, of medium build and neither stocky nor slender, but somehow still familiar in a way he couldn't place. Hard to tell from the cast alone, but it didn't look like Ash or Cam, he knew them well enough.

But when Phillip came into view behind a quiet blond with downcast eyes he found he wasn't surprised.

And in another second as Phillip's grey eyes came into focus on the other side of the cell bars, and Kana could see that his mouth was set in an unhappy line.

Kana's face twitched up in a wry smile. _A million to one odds they have him escorting me to my death_, he mused.

"How are you?" Phillip asked sincerely, looking over the taller man with care.

Kana put a finger up to his chin, thinking about it. "In pain, I guess?" He thought for a moment longer. "Yup. That's it, a little bit of pain, at least."

His tone was casual, but Phillip saw the slight, enduring wince in his expression and the way he was warily leaning to the side against one of the bars. He just nodded in acceptance of Kana's cryptic answer. "Do you know Laney?" The boy asked.

Kana took in the girl standing at Phillip's side, poised with one foot behind him as if ready to use him as a human shield to retreat behind at the nearest opportunity. She was making a determined effort to avoid looking in his direction, and held a small plate in one hand and a glass of clear water in the other.

If she was bringing food, Bluebell must not have decided what to do with him yet. It was a good sign.

But still, marching this girl down here and pointing her out to him, what was he supposed to tell her? That was sorry for what happened yesterday?

Because he wasn't.

Instead he inexplicably replied with, "Are you sure you want to feed somebody you plan on killing?" He smiled a lazy smile at her, but the normal carefree effect was lost with the pain behind it.

Her eyes snapped up to him, unsurely, and he could see that they were the palest green. She immediately looked down again, catching herself.

Phillip took a short step in front of her. "Kana. She's just bringing you food, and that's all. It's okay to accept it."

"Okay, but what makes you think I want to eat anything _Bluebell_ made?" He emphasized his least favorite word. "Even if they want to keep me alive, which I doubt highly, chances are I couldn't eat it even if I wanted to. Their food is worse than bad, it makes me sick."

The last words rang with the touch of honesty that was so typical of Kana that Phillip found he believed him.

The older guy shrugged. "Always has."

"I'm sure you could use a drink of water at the very least." Phillip nudged Laney a little to get her to stop looking so upset, but it didn't really work. She just shook her head minutely from side to side and handed the glass to Phillip, who offered it through the bars to Kana.

Kana drained the glass quickly and handed it back through, pointedly to Laney.

She tensed when his hand was near her, and finally gained enough courage to reach out quickly and snatch it away.

"Thanks." He said, clearly to her.

She nodded, and Phillip folded his arms over his chest, leaning on the bars from the other side as Laney retreated quickly back up the stairs. "What did you do to her?" He asked conspiratorially. When he didn't answer, the boy pressed further. "She told me that you attacked her yesterday. Is there truth in it?"

Looking sullen and not in the mood to discuss it, Kana answered wryly. "Yeah, some. It's impossible not to chase someone when they're running away from you."

Phillip raised an auburn eyebrow that was near black in the surrounding darkness. "I'll try to remember that." His eyes glanced over the other again. "I thought you were dead." He said quietly.

Kana chuckled. "Not this time."

The normal cadence of the younger guy's confident voice faltered a bit as he voiced another curiosity. "Is… this what it's like, dealing with the other side? You're right about Bluebell, most of them want you dead. I don't know how you can live like this."

"Usually I live with it by keeping them far away from us." Kana looked at Phillip, who was still leaning relaxed against the bars. "You don't look like someone who's going to help get me out of here."

It was an accusation, Phillip knew this, and slowly nodded his assent. Instead of rising to the bait he asked, "What if I could get them to simply let you go?"

Kana reached behind his head and violently grabbed on his ponytail, shaking his head and running his fingers roughly against his scalp. He combed through his thick brown hair and walked back to the cot, carefully lowering himself onto it. Finally, he looked back over. "When you're ready to take this stuff seriously, let me know man."

"Serious, why don't you think I'm being serious? I'm saying it's actually possible."

"Possible and likely are two different things, kid. Bluebell giving the benefit of the doubt? That ain't gonna happen."

It was Phillip's turn to be frustrated. "It will happen. I know you were just following my sister here- trying to keep her safe. I told them that you weren't here for a raid. And you know what?"

"What- they didn't believe you? Big surprise."

Phillip frowned. "No, they didn't believe me." He agreed.

"Hah."

The kid shook it off. "But it threw them into doubt. And you need that, Kana! You need someone here to realize that you aren't some monster who rolled into Bluebell on a thuderous black cloud. Whoever you really are, you don't deserve to be demonized."

Uncertainty was written on the rancher's face then. "Just like Mako said to you when we first met. What if I'm exactly like they say I am?"

The answer came immediately. "Well you're not."

Kana chuckled again, and it made the kid's voice wary when he spoke again.

"What?"

"Nothing, kid. Thanks. Just… thanks."


	35. Chapter 35: Amnesty Day

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"Come on."

Cam gripped Lillian's hand tightly, steering her away from the café at a rapid pace. His legs were much longer than hers and she had to take extra steps to keep up with him.

Flowerbeds, signs and benches were passed without the notice or consideration of the travelers as they were nearly at the towering white church before Lillian dug her feet in and pulled back. Having met no resistance up to now, Cam nearly tripped backwards as she stalled out, and she had to pull his arm in the other direction to steady him again.

He looked down to her and shook his head, face tense.

_Now is not the time for this._

The message was clear for some reason although he used no words to convey it. She untucked her hand from his, raised her eyebrows and shook her head right back, taking a step back. He watched her as she took a few mores steps, and finally when she turned on her heal to leave him there he spoke.

"Wait."

She shrugged. "At least I know you're a good friend to my brother- you didn't want me wrapped up in this. But I don't have a choice, you know?"

Cam's mouth became a thin line. "There's always a choice. An opportunity like this might not come along again. You can't just go as you please."

"I can't leave Kana here alone."

Green eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "Oh." He shoved his hands in his pockets and scanned the area, as if they would be discovered here at any moment. "I doubt you can do anything for him."

"Can't _you_ do something?" She closed the distance and peered at him somehow, even though she was a head shorter than he was. "I'm going to try at least. You- you're going to watch or even help them do something horrible to him. I thought there was a truce on."

Again with the random accusations. "It's not that there's not a truce on… it's more like the war had been put on hold." He said slowly.

Her eye twitched, and he got the distinct expression that she was getting ready to reform her argument as if he were a small child, only able to absorb a bite at a time. He scratched the back of his head and frowned, slightly. "Let me try again, I'm not so great with words. It's more like… nothing serious has happened since the treaty was made a few years ago. It's been pretty peaceful. We don't want to ruin it."

Lillian stood in thought, watching him try to explain. _He really isn't used to having to explain the obvious_, she thought. Instead she pointed out, "You're going to ruin it if you act like it's fragile, you know."

"It _is_ fragile." He corrected, an edge creeping up in his voice.

She smiled. "No it isn't. I mean- It doesn't have to be." It was her turn to talk fast at the expression he was making. "Peace will happen if you set your will to it. You run a flower shop here, right Cam?"

He narrowed his eyes and nodded. _What are you getting at?_

"Why don't you hand out a few free flowers and announce that it's a day of amnesty for Konohana to the people in town? That way, even if your Mayor or the other elders decide to punish Kana for what _I can assure you is a misunderstanding_, you've already helped the people decide for themselves. Then you can pin a rose to Kana's jacket and send him back home, where he can tell everybody about how the peace is real now?"

He looked at her as if she'd grown a few extra heads. "That will never work."

She ignored him. "Sure it will. You just have to decide that it's going to work, and it will."

"Rutger might go for something like that," He admitted quietly, "But there's no way that Howard and Eileen will ever-"

"Then just convince them. I can help you do it. I'm staying after all." She gave a little mockery of his usual smile and watched him carefully, waiting for him to fold, but he just took a deep breath and began to shake his head.

"And flowers for free, I pay for them, gather them from other places… the amount of time I put into that…"

Lillian sighed. "Do you want me to pay for them? I have a little bit on me now, then I can just owe you for it. If my brother is right I'll be making a lot of money here."

Cam opened his mouth again when he thought of another reason her idea was stupid-

"But I can only pay you back if the peace continues and my crops don't get messed up by your fake war. So help me out, okay?"

She turned on her heal before he could stop her and marched herself back into town, hoping he didn't hear the panic in her voice on those last few words. She knew she couldn't get Kana out on her own. If she couldn't get help, she would just have to try and stay here in Bluebell in exchange for his freedom. There were no other good ideas!

Cam stood stock still for a few minutes, wondering what had just happened. Before he realized it he was musing aloud, "…Could have finished him off yesterday if I was here, then I wouldn't be in this mess today." He kept muttered under his breath, and followed a ways behind, trying not to look as irritated as he felt.

He knew his mask was slipping.

…

So how was it, a half hour later, that he found himself back at his flower stand not trying to sell anything, but rather, to just give things away for free?

He stood stiffly at his shop feeling like a wall decoration.

"Flowers for amnesty! Peace with Bluebell is achieved!" Lillian called loudly, her voice echoing throughout the center of town. She had added a few flowers she had picked the previous day to the gorgeous blooms he had carefully tended, and the wilted flowers were not having any of her enthusiasm.

He hid his embarrassment under his hat, trying to come up with ways to get rid of her, but so far nothing had worked.

A few people had stopped by, curious, and thankfully nobody Cam knew too well. Lillian had given a flower away to the woman who lived far on the outskirts of town who only came once a week to buy milk, and another to a young mother and her son, who'd been delighted at the phony news about the war ending entirely.

A few others stopped by and heard her story, but were less convinced and didn't take a flower, and eventually Grady wandered by, smiled a wide smile and told Lillian he was pleased to meet her. He took a bud and pinned it to his sweater, before stopping into Howard;s Café for a bite to eat. He insisted on paying for it, and Lillian accepted the money, showing it to Cam.

"If the war is still on then that was my sale and I'm keeping it."

"If the war is still on then you're the enemy and you won't be able to leave with it." He replied easily, wondering why he was bothering to respond at all.

"Possession is nine-tenths of the law." She said offhandedly and pocketed the coins.

Cam mentally tallied up the amount of missing merchandise so he could collect on it later, adding the coins she showed him in his head. She wouldn't be able to keep up her fake news game for very long. How far could it possibly go?

He smirked at the thought and then his face froze- Laney was marching out towards the flower booth, much in the same mood she had stomped down the stairs this morning.

Her unsure demeanor gone, she placed her white fists on the table and her eyes bored into his. "What. Are. You. Doing?"

He shrugged, flipping a hand out of his pocket to indicate Lillian who was already prepared with a delicate carnation. "Will you help us celebrate the end of the war?" She asked. "It's a day of amnesty- we're giving out flowers to celebrate peace!"

Laney looked at the flower in surprise. "They announced… peace?" She asked the other girl.

Lillian nodded enthusiastically. "Any minute now they will! Help us celebrate when the Mayor comes out to announce it."

Laney's hazel eyes shifted to Cam, who raised his eyebrows innocently. When she reached out and took the flower, a familiar smile spread out on his lips and she knew there was a joke she was missing out on. But he wasn't disagreeing, so a glimmer of hope began to spread in her even though she didn't know why it would.

Maybe it was true this time? But then… what was the joke? Oh well, free flower. She held it carefully and thought to yell again- Lillian should be downstairs if nothing was decided- but the girl was beaming at her with a genuine smile and she gave up, meekly returning to the café. Howard was still out and she was running it by herself after all.

Phillip opened the front door to meet her. "Oh-hey Laney. I hope you don't mind, but Grady wanted some tea too, so I got it for him. He still needs to be charged though."

She placed the flower in a vase on the counter and eyed it suspiciously before answering. "Okay… thanks Phillip. You didn't have to."

"Yeah I know that. But I heard the door slam and knew you'd gone out. Is everything alright? What's going on outside?"

"I don't know." She responded, walking past him to the register to ring up Grady, who was smiling.

Back outside, Cam's amusement didn't last very long.

Rutger had heard the noise of the people that had started to gather around the stand and was ambling over towards them.

The young florist's mind started swimming with explanations, apologies and preparing for admonishment but Rutger came over, used the end of his cane to sneak his tall hat up higher on his head and took a flower from Lillian's hand. "I don't believe I made the lady's acquaintance." He said to Cam.

Cam cleared his throat. "Uh.. this is you know, from Ka-kono-"

"I'm Lillian." The girl interrupted him. Again. Then she raised her voice loud enough for the small crowd in the square to hear and held the mayor's hand while it was clasped around the bloom. "And may I say how proud I am to meet you, the man WHO JUST ANNOUNCED A DAY OF AMNESTY FOR KONOHANA IN THE NAME OF PEACE!"

Surprise was evident on the Mayor's face as he accepted the flower, and applause broke out behind him. He turned to look, and half the town had come out to hear what she announced.

Cam's casual smile was frozen more perfectly than ever.

_ActNaturalActNaturalActNatural_… He chanted, internally panicking now.

Phillip and Grady emerged from the café and clapped too, adding to the effect, and Rutger smiled, slowly as he caught on, raising the red bud in the air. "In hopes that peace will be long-lasting and remembered by even our youth, today we grant amnesty!"

A few cheers were peppered with some muttering- not everyone wanted amnesty, even though peace sounded nice- as Rutger took Lillian's hand and lead her around to the front of the flower stand. "I'd also like to announce that this young girl, Lillian, and her brother Phillip (who I'm sure you have met by now) are granted free passage into and out of our town-regardless of the contest boundaries!"

By this time people were clapping merely out of habit, and once the clapping died down Rutger let go of her hand and gestured towards the City hall building. "My dear I do believe a few words are required."

Lillian looked over to where Cam stood staring at her blankly, as if for permission to leave.

He was honestly bemused. Did she think he was going to demand that she stay and create more mischief? _Go already_.

Phillip walked over too, as the mayor and his sister went inside.

Cam's eyes still followed Lillian. "And where have you been all morning?" He asked.

Phillip shrugged. "Not doing anything like that. I was talking to everybody, but-" He started to laugh. "Leave it to Lil to fix in fifteen minutes what I spend a day on. Well I'd better go find out what Rutger says. Do you need help with anything, first?"

Cam shook his head negatively. "Just tell her that she owes me 2,800 gold."

.

.

Author's Note; Pay up, Lillian

Just wanted to thank everyone for their kind notes in the feedback section, and encourage any honest opinions. I'll take them seriously, I swear I will!

But for today's specific question, do you guys want more fighting? I'm not planning on having there be no conflict after this and I can easily keep the towns at war- but I don't want to write a stalemate.

More opinions are appreciated. *nodsnods*

~The Frog


	36. Chapter 36: Bluebell's Orders

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"You did WHAT?" Howard bellowed.

"I granted them amnesty. A brilliant tactician, this girl. It's almost a shame we're ending the war when we could be absorbing minds like theirs." Rutger quipped, gesturing with the flower in his hand towards the twins.

"Has your brain turned to mush?" Inquired the towering blond man, lacing his fingers back together and regaining control of his composure. "If word spreads that they get amnesty today they'll just come over here and start trouble on purpose so they can have it the day after, and the day after that."

"No they wouldn't." Lillian huffed. "You don't know them, they aren't bad people!"

Howard responded to Rutger as if Lillian hadn't spoken at all. "This will make us weaker, and is a serious insult to everyone of our dead!"

"I consider… every one of my son's deaths to be my own fault." Rutger said quietly. "If I had stopped this war, whatever point I had stopped it at, one more of my son's lives would have been saved. You see, Howard? We've inherited this problem, but we worked hard to make it our own. We don't have to accept the violence of the younger generation at face value."

Howard smiled sarcastically. "Yes, we do. We have to accept that they are going to keep trying to kill us. Peace goes both ways and nobody in that town wants peace, no matter what their age is. Kana's violation of our town's sovereignty proves that. He came here to draw blood. If he doesn't pay for it, they will be able to get away with anything here."

Rutger twirled the bud in his fingers before placing it carefully on the table. "There were people down there clapping just now who I daresay will disagree with you."

"Amnesty is exactly what you need. And what I've been trying to tell you is that Kana is the kind of person you want to have in your debt." Phillip stated calmly. "He's passionate, and won't be able to ignore it if his enemies are kind to him. If he's one of the most influential people they have in this conflict, like you say he is, you have to release him back in Bluebell so that he tells others about how his life was spared. In return for that, keep Lillian here, at my ranch."

Howard scoffed from behind his tightly laced hands that were propped in front of him on the table. The big man dominated the little table and looked around, towering over everyone else even while sitting. But for some odd reason, the white lace on the tablecloth suited him.

Phillip narrowed his eyes, expecting a rebuttal.

When Howard spoke next it wasn't directed at him. "Amnesty, really Rutger? You believe being the first town that plays nicely is going to be first to solve a generations-long feud?"

Rutger cleared his throat and shifted in his seat.

"And why not?" Phillip replied to him. "It's better than having another death- more blood on your hands. It may save your children from having blood on theirs. And in time the towns may even grow together-"

"No." Howard repeated, arms crossed now as if to restrain himself physically. "What we need is their land, not their people. Their people should be eradicated."

Phillip glanced over at his sister and saw the raw shock in it. She looked back and minutely shook her head. _She's had it with him_, he thought wryly. _But that's how he is_…

"Howard." Rutger admonished, looking about as menacing as a pork bun under a rounded hat.

Normally one to observe first, Rutger couldn't help remembering his sons in that moment. He had been so quick tempered then, when all he wanted was revenge on Ina and her father for what they'd done. The villagers stolen from their homes at night, the sacrifices, the embargo on the dairy trade, the fires. So much death, to the point that it seemed no one could stop it. Now that there had been years of a stalemate with only a few skirmishes showing the evidence of deeper wounds below, he hadn't been able to keep himself from the truth of what he had been doing for all those years.

Ina and Rutger, though they wanted peace (and he truly believed that even she, shrill and overbearing as she was, did want it) there was too much blood on their hands to ever be washed clean enough. They were born into this mess, all they knew now was how to stay alive despite it, not how to guarantee a safe life for anyone in the future.

But if in righteous anger they had made the grave mistake of teaching young innocents how to spill blood simply because they _knew_ no other way…

He cleared his throat in slight embarrassment at the realization, interrupting Phillip and Howard from their back and forth bickering.

"You do not need to understand us- just obey!" Howard was bellowing. "We've been doing fine without your horrible ideas. My daughter is in no danger from the likes of Konohana!"

"Enough." Rutger said, his hand flat on the table in front of him. "That's quite far enough I believe."

Phillip leveled his gaze at the man who was easily three times his size. "And Cam? Is he safe from them? He may be a good person to his own, but he's not innocent. Even I can tell that he already carries a heavy conscience."

Howard looked away first, from embarrassment or disregard the young man couldn't tell.. "He's not my real child."

"What, so you don't need to protect him just the same?"

"Of course I do, that boy means the world to me!"

Rutger cleared his throat so loudly he started coughing, and the two stopped to look over. "Howard. I'd like some time with the twins now. Can you see yourself out?"

Howard's beady, mascara-bound eyes stared down with violence at the Mayor, looking mutinous. He rose, visibly shaking, and marched resolutely out the door without saying anything else.

Lillian let out a breath she had been holding for a very long time, but when Howard left a feeling of dread filled her. Her eyes hovered over the door that he slammed on the way out as if any moment it would melt with the heat of that man's fury. She shivered despite herself.

Rutger must have been used to the man, because he was casually continuing to speak.

"I think that, no I believe it. This is providence. Phillip, you and your sister may well have been sent to us for this reason."

The boy stood up stiffly, eyebrows raised as the immediate thought flew past him- _there is no such thing_._ If providence existed then Mom and Dad would still be alive._

"Go with Kana, back to Konohana. And we will keep your sister here, and safe, as you request. You will be our ambassador, and she will be our spy."

Lillian blinked, just now zeroing in on the conversation. "What did you say?" She asked again.

The old man just winked at her. "At least for a little why, humor me." He said.

…

The door slammed open and Laney jumped a foot off the ground, the empty teacup and saucer in her hand clattering together.

Her father stomped in, looking eerily calm and she stood silent, watching him. The entire building rattled when his feet met the floorboards.

He was in a very bad mood.

She clutched the dishes to her chest as he passed by her without even a sidelong glance and marched with purpose towards the cellar door.

She felt the familiar flutter of panic and had an ominously solid idea of what was going to happen next. But not to her for once.

_Should I follow him?_

…

...

Author's Note- Good to see you all again! It seems that spring is the best season for me to pick up writing again, and I hope I can jump back in more regularly. Thank you so much for the reviews and answers to the question of the story's direction, it was great to get the feedback.

Originally I had planned to tell the whole story in one go, but as I grew more excited about the separated twins aspect of the early story, that started to BECOME this story. Once they were together again the entire plot direction had to change, and that has definitely held back a few updates, and I had to layout the conflict between towns anew, so that Phillip and Lillian could truly participate (as it is their tentative agreements with their towns to do so afterall). I almost feel as if I should have ended the story once Phillip and Lillian were reunited, then started the conflict as a new story to give it a clearer separation- but I guess we'll just have to call this part of it, 'chapter 2'.

I don't know how long the conflict will take or know how far this will go, only that it's likely to be as long as the original 30-some chapter were generally. I'm writing to satisfy my own curiosity and I don't think I can stop until I've figured out the major players in each town and shown you their side of it. Even if I scratch the surface for each one, there are a lot of players here!

So thanks to everyone who is still looking forward to this ride with me!

-The Frog


	37. Chapter 37: All for One

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Cam handed out another red bud, this one tied with a thin, shiny ribbon.

_3,400g total…_ he counted in his head.

"Happy Amnesty Day." Jessica said, smiling. Her eyes were blue, already the color of water, and as a tear or two came from the side it looked like they were starting to melt.

Cam stared at her for a bit, before realizing he was being rude. But Ash's mother wasn't at all the kind of person to get emotional just because the Mayor made an announcement. Peace had been announced before and hadn't stuck, so why should it now?

She turned a bit, wiping her eyes. "Excuse me."

"Don't worry about it." He said quietly.

Then Ash came up from the side, Cheryl's hand tightly in his right hand. As Jessica offered her daughter the rose and the little blond girl tucked it in the front pocket of her green dress, another tear came out and she cleared her throat in embarrassment.

"Aw, ma." Ash wrapped his arm around his mother's neck and kissed her cheeks until tears stopped falling and a blush slowly spread over them instead. She giggled a little. "I love my kids." This declaration brought another round of hugs ending in a group hug until the florist cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

Ash smiled at Jessica one more time and gestured to his sister to go back home with their mother.

Cheryl, oblivious to the mood around them, stomped her foot. "I want to stay out with you. Today is special, so I want you to spend it with me!"

Ash shared a look with Cam, who's only opinion was in his eyes, and squatted down to be level with his baby sister. "It IS a special day and I WILL spend it with you." He smiled at her and then winced when the girl reached out for his bandaged hand, grabbing it tightly.

"Spend it with me NOW!" She demanded, oblivious.

Ash got up and pulled his hand to his chest. "Cheryl- just give me a second to talk to my friend, okay? I promise I'll follow behind on the way home-"

"NOW!" She repeated in a confident voice.

Cam emerald eyes shone below his hat. "Go back home, squirt." He said.

Cheryl looked up at Cam, incensed. "I want to play with Ash! YOU go back home!"

Cam leaned over the edge of his flower table at her, and put his hand out. "Fine. If I'm going home I have to make some money. Pay for that flower first _and then_ I'll let you play with him."

Her eyes went wide and she took a step back.

"Price goes up over time you know. I was going to give it to you for free, but now that you're still here I'm beginning to have second thoughts about that. Let's say-" He put a hand up to his chin- "350 gold?"

"Ooo, that's expensive," Ash chimed in. "I wonder how much work you'd have to do to earn it. Several hours in the field… maybe even the dishes…"

"Ah- I can't pay that!" She exclaimed, holding it tighter than ever, looking back and forth between them.

"Then take it home before I forget I gave it to you as a gift. Put it in water and talk to it every day, and it'll live for a week." The florist advised gently.

Cheryl nodded and walked away hurriedly, looking over her shoulder with wide eyes.

Cam chuckled, "Always works to chase away unwanted female attention. Ask them to pay for something." He looked over and saw the frown on his friend's face. "What?"

Ash shook his head slowly. "Nothing. Something feels off today."

The other shrugged and busied himself shifting single carnations around and trimming a few leaves. He looked up and saw the beauty of the town in the sunlight of the middle of the day. There was a bound in people's steps as cherry blossoms flaunted themselves above and their petals fluttered through the air.

_Whatever it is, it's not a bad change_, the florist thought.

Just then a loud crack reverberated off the little white buildings, stealing away the moment of peace in palpable irony. Cam and Ash looked over to see the Town Hall's door slam angrily again after being slammed open.

An impressive figure emerged, taking measured strides towards the cafe and little stand. He looked neither to the right nor the left, and his dark eyes were hard as if set upon some murky thought that no one in their right mind would dare guess at.

Cam felt his blood run cold, and momentarily braced himself. This was not a normal fit of temper. There was something bitter and calculating there, and as the large man stomped towards them both and disregarded everything around him his mind tripped over itself trying to find the reason behind it. The florist's hand was frozen in place, for several moments after Howard had passed.

_Did I do something?_

Ash shrank back too, unable to help his shock at the feeling of dread that Howard's passing rooted in him, wondering why he had never seen this before. There was violence in the man's stride, a madness churning a hair's breadth below the surface of his features. He'd known Howard for years. But the look on his face… was as if someone had died.

_No- that's not quite it-_

"He's going to kill him." Cam said, emerald eyes on the door of the Café.

Ash looked at his friend in horror. "What did you say? Howard is one of our elders- of course he wouldn't just randomly kill someone. Especially on a day like today." But his voice cracked at the end and once the words were spoken, the weight of them fell and he knew it was a lie. When he spoke again, his voice felt weak. A whisper. "Would he?"

"We'll be able to raise our animals in peace." Cam replied, hands still frozen in place with the shears open.

"That doesn't mean we should let it happen!"

An angry huff escaped Cam's mouth. "Then what are we supposed to do, defy an elder? If he mistreats a prisoner or two, what's it to us? Rutger gave him the authority to hold people there indefinitely. There's nothing we can do about it." Cam took a deep breath and began cutting stems again, resisting the urge to cuss when he practically beheaded two at once.

"Your hands are shaking." Ash observed.

_ \- snip – snip - _

"And you're an idiot."

"Yes. Yes I'm the idiot for caring about human life. What's your problem, Cam? Shouldn't we go check at least, just because he's an elder doesn't mean he can do whatever he wants."

Cam cut more stems, focusing on his hands and counting flowers.

Ash watched apprehensively.

_snip – snip – snip – snip – snip - snip_

The little pile of red carnations dwindled, and both boys were deadlocked as if a silent argument was going on.

Finally, Cam slammed the shears down on the table and glared at Ash.

Ash smiled tightly in response, and both launched into a sprint across the plaza.

…

The café was silent inside when they entered, the way the world was before a nasty storm.

Cam took the stairs quickly, the ranch hand close on his heels. Eyes adjusted to the darkness in a few terse seconds, and the disjointed sound of someone being struck repeatedly jumped in the air around them. This would have been a relief except for the smell of blood- it meant that Kana was still alive and struggling, although had no energy left to speak.

Even though he was able to do it, Howard hadn't killed him in one blow, opting instead to prolong his revenge.

As the boys approached the cage, Cam spoke out of the side of his mouth. "I'll get Kana out if you can buy me time away from Howard."

A nod in response was Ash's reply, who grabbed a pitchfork that leaned against the wall in the cellar as they advanced.

Cam made out another figure in the dark, and there Laney stood, watching her father with wide eyes, arms folded tightly over her chest. She wasn't crying, but she looked like it was coming any minute. She looked how Cam felt- torn between the idea of justice and the brutality of _this_.

Kana, bloodied, staggered out of the way of another fist which instead of his face, found his gut. He held his side to protect it, and tried to side-step. He was barely able to defend himself against the hulk of the baker. One eye was starting to swell shut, and blood ran from it. It was clear from the smell that the stitches at his side had reopened.

Howard was red with rage and ranting. "Amnesty! There is no such thing for your _kind_! Bring me back _my wife_! Reunite _our families_!" Each sentence peppered by a few more blows.

Kana was able to block one in three, and soon was bleeding from him mouth and several other lacerations.

"Howard."

Laney jumped- she hadn't noticed Cam by her side.

"Leave." The big man growled over his shoulder in answer. Reaching out to grab Kana by the face, he moved to the side and threw him out of the cell.

Cam shoved Laney out of the way just in time and Kana's head cracked loudly against Cam's temple. Both of them collapsed to the floor.

All uncertainty gone, Ash moved in front of them. "Howard-" he began, but the big man reached for the pitchfork Ash was holding as a shield and grappled with him. He disarmed Ash in less than minute of struggle, not hesitating to backhand him across the face and then broke it in two, splinters of wood raining over the scene.

"D-Dad…" Laney said from the side, and Howard whirled on her.

She cringed when he yelled, fist in front of her face. "You want it, too?! Stay out of this!" She went white as a sheet and involuntarily retreated a few steps.

Ash got up and wiped his mouth. _No blood, that's good_.

Howard turned back to him, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. "Move," He said in a tone that said he wished the young man wouldn't.

Ash risked a glance behind him.

Cam was out cold and Kana was struggling to get up, pinned beneath the limp body of the florist. He slipped and fell again, a groan of pain escaping him in ragged breath.

For some reason, the image of his mother's face flashed in front of him from when he had hugged her- the look of unguarded hope in her clear blue eyes- and he realized what this was going to cost Bluebell if it continued. He dragged his hat off of his head and flung it to the ground in anger as it exploded in his veins. "Dammit, Howard!"

The bigger man paused. He wanted a fight, not words. He worked his jaw, painted lips pressed in a thin line. He took a step towards Ash.

"You're going to bring them right down on our heads!"

"They don't have to know he didn't die right away." Howard countered, smiling now.

"And you- of all of us, are the only one who gets justice? What about MY RIGHT- who is going to pay for my father's death, for my elder brother's?"

Howard stopped, grinding his teeth in spite of his earlier eagerness. An image of a young man with long caramel hair tied at the nape of his neck came quickly to mind. Ash's brother Aaron had been stocky, strong, and serious. The polar opposite of the boy in front of him now, Aaron had been trampled during a skirmish several years ago when he was guarding the line with Grady. That was part of the reason Jessica was so uncomfortable with Ash's learning to fight and the boy was not allowed to patrol now, no matter how much Bluebell needed the help.

Howard's breathing slowed. "All the more reason you should be on my side. I'll ask you boy, what _about_ your father, your brother? Do you want them to have died in vain?"

Ash shook his head. "No, they protected Bluebell and I am proud of what they did for us, but killing Kana won't bring them back, won't bring back Eleanor."

Howard's face darkened at the mention of his late wife. Ash pressed the advantage. "And do you want for Laney or Cheryl to be mourning us, too? Or worse, fighting? What if we could end it?"

"You can." A new voice interjected in the darkness.

Howard sighed in irritation as Phillip came into view in the low light.

The auburn-haired newcomer stepped lightly, helping Kana away from Cam and checking on them both before stopping at Ash's side.

The chef found himself debating. Cracking the two boys' heads against each other and leaving them in a heap so he could quickly snap Kana's neck was a very tempting prospect. He knew he'd get no other chance. But as he stood, wrestling internally, he found that for some reason he was able instead to turn on his heel and walk away. The heat of the moment had been lost, and he knew Kana would be back over the line again soon enough.

There was always a second chance.

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Author's Note; I love the boys from Bluebell! They seem so much more close than the Konohana crew, especially if you play the game and see their date dialogues. Hiro and Kana get along all right, but even when Dirk joins up he does his own thing every day. Ash and Cam have an unrivaled bromance. That's why I could never marry Ash (in game), he just likes Cam a little too much, it makes it seem like he doesn't have his own identity yet. I know the Ash fans are out there- do any of you want to sound off on this?

Howard has been my biggest challenge in this story- we all know from the game that he is certifiably crazy (as a side note, does a certified crazy person get some kind of framed paper with their doctor's diagnosis on it?). I'm still not sure how crazy he is, though? I can only imagine it's 'a lot'. Without a conflict to fuel his rage, or his wife's death to justify his violence, I wonder if he would simply be a gentle soul? And I don't know if I'll get to this, but the makeup and girly room- well he's trying to be both a mother and father to Laney, right?


	38. Chapter 38: Hopes Carried

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The afternoon rush brought on by the announcement had finally begun to dwindle, and there were a few moments of opportunity left to get ready for the dinner crowd.

Laney busied herself with the familiar- wiping tables, pouring tea, chopping asparagus for the evening's soup choice.

Avoiding her father.

Howard had been upstairs in his room for something like an hour before coming back down to the business level, and when he did the traces of seething anger had not quite faded from his face, but were starting to be replaced with a more pensive expression that she couldn't bring herself to identify. She didn't want to catch his attention just now anyways.

She worked on the opposite side of the counter from him as much as possible, having done her job for so long here that she thankfully didn't need any further instruction and knew what needed doing next.

Cam was lying down in his room now, Phillip had brought him up from the basement and said something about the florist not feeling well, had asked her to look in on him once the café was less chaotic with the crowds. She'd given Phillip a glass of water to take to him.

Then, as if they had all known one another for years, the new farmer said he was going to run the florist's stand for the rest of the day until it had to close.

As she was placing a generous piece of her homemade sponge cake on the table for the last two guests she glanced out of the window and saw him there, fussing over the stand as if it was his. She moved to the other window and watched him work for a while, pretending she was dusting the window sill.

It felt silly to watch him, but there was a feeling that she couldn't sort out, that she felt she desperately needed to understand.

Why was it that in her carefully planned and perfectly acted out life, someone could still breeze in without effort and start changing things? It had unnerved her so much and now as she watched him work diligently she realized that things had gotten better because of him- there was nothing for her to be angry about.

Not that she wasn't still angry. Phillip had that annoying air of superiority about him, as if he knew everything. Like travelling a little made you better at life!

She sighed. _Maybe it does make you better at life._

Cam, who still traveled every week and was only a little bit older than she was, knew so much more about the world than she did. But she'd always liked how he never tried to talk down to her about it. Cam knew she was sheltered, and accepted her anyways, with kindness and comradery even.

Phillip- not that he didn't seem nice, was almost _too_ nice? He wasn't like Cam, who could take a hint when she wanted to be left alone. Phillip paid too much attention and she still knew that one day he'd see too much about the town, about her father, and about her.

She wondered if he'd sensed it already, that Cam was once here against his own will too. But Laney was selfish and didn't want the current situation to change!

Cam may keep her at arm's length now, but one day that would end and she would be his.

Her father's voice intruded into the silence. "Laney. Guests."

She nodded without looking over, still thinking.

His sister was out there too, still talking to people who hadn't heard yet about the amnesty and offering carnations. Further back, she saw Rutger and Rose together on the steps of the Town Hall, greeting people and chatting as if they were hosting a party.

The last guests got up to leave and she stopped watching, her eyes adjusting back to the interior of the café as she went to clean off their table too.

The soft click of the door told the two that they were alone. The only sounds in the little room were of them working. Behind the counter, she knew her father's eyes followed her as he rolled out the pasta for the evening meal.

She stopped a moment later to risk a look at him, hoping he was over his earlier fit. Something was bothering her.

"Dad?" She asked when she saw his normal calm demeanor was back. She watched him roll out some more pasta and cut it expertly into perfect finger-sized pieces.

"Yes?" He asked, dumping the chopped noodles into a large ceramic bowl.

"What if I don't choose Cam?" She asked.

His black eyes flicked up at that, then back down to what he was doing. "You will." He said.

She felt her heart beat quicken at how sure he sounded. Howard knew Cam better than she did as he had raised him like a son, of course he would know how the florist really felt about her. She knew that he cared, but did he feel _that_ way about her?

She was unsure of her own heart, now. What did she want? "Why?" She asked him. _Why do you think I'll choose him?_

Howard responded immediately, "Because I told you to."

She didn't ask him any more questions after that.

…

Cam's emerald eyes flew open as the dull ache in his head sharpened and finally woke him. He was laying on something comfortable, and he was vaguely aware that a cool cloth had been placed over his head.

The light coming in from the window was… not there.

He took a deep breath and sat up slowly, thinking the curtain had been drawn. He realized instead that it was very dark outside.

As his room came into focus in the darkness he began to piece everything together, and with a start he realized that Howard had gotten past him in the cellar- did that mean?

Was Kana dead?

No… no he wouldn't have been able to get past Ash too, would he?

The florist tugged his vest and hat on and sprinted to the basement, noticing as he flew past how quiet the house was, as if it was empty.

He found the same thing downstairs… Kana's cell had been locked up and tidied, showing no signs of recent use.

It only took the span of five minutes for him to realize that the house actually was empty.

Gulping down a glass of water that had been left on his night stand and confirming that there was no note left anywhere, he headed out into the evening air to find out what was going on.

It didn't take long for him to find the procession.

A figure sat atop of an ashen pony pulling a patched- up looking cart. Rutger and Rose walked in front and led the way for it to pass through the crowd. Many people carried lanterns, and as the cart passed them they placed something inside it- most items looked like bundles of cloth and bags of grain, but occasionally a chicken was placed inside, too. Like an offering.

Shaking his head, Cam walked into the crowd and tried to get closer.

He could make out that the rider was Phillip, and most of the town made up the crowd. He could just hear a few of the words as the cart passed homes and accepted gifts. He knew most of the people;

"Thank you so much and may you be blessed." – One of the old ranchers placed a bag of wheat in the cart.

"I think it's really brave what you are doing" – Cheryl, as she handed over another chicken.

"Good Harvest to you." – Jessica actually tied a cow to the cart to follow behind it.

"I hate Konohana so I ain't givin' 'im nothing – Georgia, Cam realized with a small smile. The redhead crossed her arms as the pony passed and tried not to look Phillip in the eye. Phillip laughed, which only made her glare at him. "Take care Geo!"

"That ain't my name!" She yelled back to him.

Laney added a few covered dished to the wagon. "Be careful, Phillip." She said.

He nodded sincerely. "You are all doing the right thing." He told her.

The procession passed her and her pale eyes kept trained on it for a while. Cam made her jump when he came up and asked "What are we doing that's the right thing?"

She didn't meet his gaze for some reason. "We- well Phillip is taking Kana back to Konohana, and we're giving him gifts to make peace with their village."

He was surprised. "He's leaving?" She nodded, but he didn't see it as he was quickly taking off after the cart though the crowd of villagers.

"Phillip!"

The cart neared the edge of the woods now, and Cam raised his voice even louder as Phillip stopped to look at everyone and the crowd's soft words turned into cheers of good will.

"PHILLIP!"

The boy looked at him and smiled. "Bye, Cam! Take good care of my sister for me!"

_Sister_? And then he saw Lillian, standing by the road to Tales Ranch, yelling at her brother to go. "Hurry up before I rename this place! Or spell the name correctly on the sign or something!"

"But there are animals there so tales fits it now!" He yelled back.

"Whatever idiot- just go and don't forget what I told you about bamboo shoots!"

"I won't, bye dummy!"

"I love you too!"

And then with the cheers of everyone behind them, Phillip and Kana (who was lying with very limited space in the newly refurbished cart) made the start of the trip back to the other side of the mountain.

Cam watched calmly as the cart disappeared into the darkly forested path, knowing somehow that Phillip would succeed in Konohana through hard work and determination, just like he had here.

What he couldn't possibly have known was that his life and the path that had been set for him would irrevocably be altered by the events of that first year he spent getting to know Phillip and Lillian.

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_Author's note: Time-skip! How far should I take this?! **Waggles eyebrows** I've come to the realization that I include every little detail into everything ever, so I need to find out how to progress things if I want this story to be in any way realistic. Do you all believe that this was about two weeks of game time so far in this story? It's nearly a whole novel! But knowing me I'll just time-skip by a few weeks. It'd be a shame to miss summer, right?_

_Thank you all for reading (as always I very much appreciate it!)_

_-The Frog_


	39. Chapter 39: Another Bluebell Sunday

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Lillian hummed to herself as she laid three dozen eggs into the shipping bin in neat cartons and placed a few full bouquets of red roses on top. She vaguely wondered if Phillip's shipments would top hers again this week, but she was also saving up for a new cow. Besides, she had given the farm in Konohana a great start with all the planting she had done in mid-Spring. He was still riding the wave she'd started up for him back then- now with only a week left in summer it was finally going to be about their different farming styles and they'd both had to shape their lands on their own.

She couldn't wait to see Phillip today, but that wasn't going to be for long as summer was the busiest time here so far, and neither twin had ever recalled working harder in their lives than they were now.

Because there was so much to do they had agreed to see one another only once a week, on Sunday evenings (unless they attended the cooking thingy too) and they had barely been able to make that time.

The people here in Bluebell made for great company so far (even the redhead) and Lillian had no complaints about the mayor or his wife, who had been terribly polite and even made a habit to stop by and check on her in the evenings.

Things with Konohana had become better at the festivals, and after a few terse meetings between mayors at the mountain top, both villages had agreed to expand the boundaries allowed for foraging.

This meant that while the mountain wasn't completely open, for the first time ever both villages had access to their sides no matter who won the contest, and the top was considered a neutral ground where anyone could go without escort. Boundaries were officially the middle ranges on either side, and patrols had not gone away, but they were becoming known to be more relaxed.

Rumor also had it that with certain patrolmen (or women), some villages could pass even if they were from the other side. This was never openly admitted, but Georgia and Kana sometimes would linger if they crossed each other at the top of the mountain and talk in muted voices about horses and memories from when Grady and his family lived outside of the towns and ran the old inn. Neither of them spoke about it- and neither of them spoke to each other openly in public, but Lillian had seen them once while she had been taking lunch in a nearby glade after a long day of foraging.

When Ash was on the mountain with his sister Cheryl it was hard for Kana to refuse letting them a little past the line- he knew Ash had bought him valuable seconds when facing Howard that could have made a huge difference to his recovery.

It had been a few weeks, and although he was still nursing the after-effects of his wounds, Kana was back on Hayate and sharing in the patrols once again, usually with stern-as-always Mako by his side. And contrary to Kana's governing nature when it came to his sister, Phillip found that he could go wherever he wanted without complaint.

Phillip and Lillian were both essentially allowed to wander as nobody really wanted to stop them anymore- it was a testament to their hard work that the villages had come this far after all. They were uniquely trusted by both sides, and even though Rutger had made a huge deal about making a spy out of Lillian, only Howard seemed to take that seriously and would occasionally corner her and ask for information from her time spent in Konohana.

Both did their part to fit in- Phillip took turns at patrolling on his new mare when he had an early afternoon, and Lillian learned first aid just in case from Jessica and Laney, a task which was on the list for today as well.

As she peered to the sky for signs of the afternoon rain that had been promised over crackling radio waves back in the little cottage this morning, Lillian squinted her eyes instead as the sun confronted her. The day was dragging on and there was actually a lot to do.

The first chore after leaving the farm for the morning: secure transportation. If Konohana was not out of bounds for her then she would take advantage of it and sell her wares there too, if possible.

She stopped by Georgia's and actually got a wave back. "Georgia!" She called.

The redhead came over from here she was talking softly to her pale mare Dakota and raised her eyebrows. "What's going on Lillian?"

"Nothing- just wanted to say hi."

"Oh okay. Hi."

Lillian smiled a bit too widely, not knowing what to say next. Things were still awkward with Georgia. "Actually, Can I rent a horse from your dad?" She blurted out.

Georgia looked at her carefully, as if assessing her capacity to care for another large animal on her own. "Sure you can." She said finally. "Did you want a little cute one for riding or a strong one who can pull a lot of weight?"

"Well, I'm not sure what I can buy with what I'll have left, can I get a cart here too?"

"I think we have some in stock… lemme check for ya." She relaxed into her old lilt.

Lillian followed the other girl inside, stooping to pet one of the little dogs while she waited. The store was as messy as always, but with half a dozen animals everywhere she had no idea how they'd keep it clean in the first place.

"Is a cart with a stripy-top okay?" The other girl asked coming back behind the counter and grabbing a catalogue to show her.

Lillian looked it over- it was small but adorable. If she got the smaller horse she could certainly afford this too. "This would be great!" She said happily. "I'll order this as soon as you can get it in. About the horse, can I name him Cosmos? Also… I'd appreciate a few tips, I haven't owned one of my own before, we just rented."

"Sure thing!" Georgia was more animated at the prospect of showing the new girl how to best take care of her horse than she was about the idea of selling anything. "Come by tomorrow for that okay? You can pick him up then."

Lillian smiled to herself, secretly amazed at what she had been able to accomplish on her own so far. _Who would have thought that simply focusing on putting one foot in front of the other every day would help me get through this? I need to save up for a cow but I'll bet I can forage farther with this and make up for the initial expense that way_… she smiled inwardly at the thought. _Then maybe I can stop and see Phillip…or Kana. _She looked at Georgia's flashing red curls as the girl jogged out to the stables to check on her new horse and get him ready for tomorrow. She could see why Kana was stopping to spend time with her lately.

That was okay, right? After all, it just meant that the towns were starting to get along better, though she had become lonely lately with all the work. She knew Phillip must be in the same situation. There was so much to finish in summer.

"Thank you, I appreciate your help Georgia!" Lillian called on her way out the door. She checked her watch anxiously, hoping not to be late at the next stop. She had missed it yesterday, so today it was her second stop instead of waiting until after running other errands.

The town florist was minding his stand as usual and only paused briefly in his work when he saw Lillian standing there with an expectant look on her face.

He tugged his hat down a bit over his pasture green eyes. "Good morning. How's it going?"

"Great." She said excitedly. "I got a new horse and cart today, and Georgia's going to show me how to best take care of it later- so I was wondering, you know her pretty well right?"

"I guess so."

"So does that mean you know something I can get her as a gift that she'd really like?"

Cam looked off in thought for a moment. "You know I hear Laney talking with her about perfumes and stuff."

Lillian put her hand on her hip. "Are you saying that because you happen to sell perfumes? Is this you practicing your sales pitch on me?"

He looked away, a little embarrassed. "No- I really do think she wanted a citrus one…"

"Oh- sorry Cam I was only teasing you. It's fine if it is a pitch, I'll buy some anyways." She reached into her bag and counted a few coins out to put them on the table. She had almost forgotten how her normal sociable personality did nothing to encourage the ever-serious florist to open up.

It was always a little intimidating talking to him, if she were to be honest with herself. In the beginning she thought he was just shy, but once she realized that his shy appearance was actually a quiet confidence, and that he was probably just noticing absolutely everything that went on around him...

His eyes shifted over to study her for a moment and she felt her cheeks heat up.

"What? Is it more expensive?" She met his eyes with hers, realizing at that moment that she had been avoiding looking at him directly.

"No- I just, was wondering something?"

"Okay. What is it?" His quiet voice sounded so serious that she held her breath for a second not knowing why she did.

"How is it that-" He cut himself off mid-sentence and frowned, giving his half smile instead. "Well actually, I was just going to take a break. Howard's always reminding me not to work so much. Are you up for a walk?"

She smiled and was surprised when his eyes softened in response. He usually was so sarcastic looking. "Where do you like to go?" He asked.

Her heart picking up, she suggested the furthest place from town she could think of.

As they set out she stayed a step ahead, not knowing why this walk felt relaxed and tense at the same time. It was a quick break that two friends happened to have the time to share with each other.

_Except_, she smiled to herself, _I don't have any time for a break at all and shouldn't be taking a walk right now_. _But Cam's been really good to Phillip and me both; of course I wouldn't refuse to go out with him!_

She squeezed her eyes shut at the embarrassing thought. _We aren't going out_, she corrected, rubbing her fingertips on her forehead. _This is just a quick walk that happened because of perfume, or something_.

"Lillian?" She felt a light touch on her shoulder and realized she had stopped walking. "Is everything alright?"

She looked around and saw that they were alone on a narrow path, ferns on either side and sunlit streams coming down from the canopy above them. She had been lost in her mind for a little while now. Cam was leaning in just close enough to scrutinize her face, and she stepped out of his arm's length reflexively. "Sorry Cam!" She said. I guess I've just got a lot on my mind because summer is in full swing and there's so much to do." She smiled sheepishly at him, feeling irresponsible. "I'm fine."

He nodded and gave her more space on the path, eyes watching her expressions carefully. "If you say so. It's easy to get lost in the forest too, with all the paths there are. If you're too tired to keep going we can turn back…?" He suggested.

She shook her head. "No- I'm fine."

She started walking again, and his hands disappeared back in his pockets.

They continued on in silence for several minutes after that.

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."AN:" I didn't think you all would mind spending a bit of time with Cam and Lillian- I'm going to work on them a bit more to make sure I get their personalities right, so thank you all for the patience of being with me so many chapters! Truth is, they are my favorite paring, so that just makes them the most difficult to write for!


	40. Chapter 40: Sittin in a tree

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It was late when Lillian made it back home- Cam and her must have spent a few hours out when it felt like minutes, and all of her other chores were put back because of it. She had a lot of lumber and stone to gather for expansions to the ranch that she wanted to make early next month, and there were a good amount of requests besides. In the middle she rushed back to the ranch to water everything for the second time, so she ended up going back and forth for a few more hours before she realized she would have had the cart she'd ordered the very next day from Georgia. On top of it all she never did get to study more first aid with Laney, who was going to be righteously upset with her- and for good reason. Laney and she were polite to one another, but they weren't exactly on friendly terms.

She groaned, realizing she'd have to make up the time tomorrow. Laney liked it when things followed and exact arrangement and Lillian missing today would have thrown off her plans, which was a pet peeve of hers. Lillian could at least understand, even if plans changed were sometimes adventures made (her old favorite saying that she used whenever something new came along to upend her and Phillip's lives).

She sat down to some baked corn with chilled tea and her checkbook and realized how tired she was. _Should I have Cam make Laney something too so she's not too mad about it? Cam…_

Able to finally evaluate her day, she realized that it was the first time she'd spent any time alone with him, and that it wasn't awkward after all. Or at least… even the awkward parts had been nice in some way? It was very… peaceful being around him. He wasn't forceful or demanding, and even when he was showing her something he liked he mostly just pointed over to it for her to notice for herself.

It was a weird experience for her, because other than the occasional temporary friend that she got to know a bit in one of their jobs they'd landed for living expenses, Lillian was careful not to be alone with anyone other than her brother. It had been a habit for too long for her to know if it was fear or good caution, but her normal conduct was to be overly nice outwardly and somebody wanted to just hang out, she chickened out at the last second.

It was more to be safe, like not going out after dark, but had become a habit to be distant with other people, especially if she liked them.

She also had good instincts after the few times Phillip had intervened on her behalf to protect her from a situation where some older man had thought a young homeless girl might be willing to do any kind of work. She suppressed a shudder at the memory.

Maybe it was the closeness in age or the lack of interest he seemed to have in anything, but being around Cam felt safe, or at least, non-threatening. It wasn't safety, was it? Was that was too strong of a word?

She nodded at herself. Non-threatening would have to be it for now.

Which brought to mind… Kana. Was she afraid of _him_? She had been in the beginning, but now had no idea what to think. Overly concerned for her or not, he had saved her life and from the time she'd woke that made him a little bit safer than the normal admirer. If that's what he was. She was sort of lost animal he had nursed back to health though, so it may be paternal instinct for all she knew. Besides, it had been weeks and he had yet to show is spikey-haired head at any of the cooking contests. Phillip had given her word of his recovery, but that was about it.

Cam's feeling was…different. Even after having the rest of the day to think on it she couldn't place how she felt around him. It wasn't bad, but maybe unsettling? It was alarming in the first place that she lost track of time and complicated the next day for herself and Laney. More than that, it was unsettling that she talked so much around him. It was like being with an old friend or family member, who knew all her secrets. Except, Cam had done nothing to earn her secrets and it was hard to remember not to say anything that was on her mind. Thinking back on it… what did she really talk about?

She reminded herself to be more cautious next time.

After a longish walk filled with green forestry and hideaway sunshine, he had helped her gather some herbs for orders and cooking.

Lillian had rambled a bit in the beginning, asking questions about his favorite season or what it had been like growing up at the café (he was typically quiet about it) and how it was that he decided to become a florist in the first place.

When he told her that flowers always win, she hadn't really known what it was he meant.

She stalled the return as they foraged, and if he noticed she was lagging behind a bit after saying there was much to do he didn't bring it up or call her out on it.

Lillian normally wouldn't go anywhere by herself at all…

After stopping for a quick rest, Cam eventually got back around to his original question, which Lillian knew signified the end of their outing, whatever it was.

"So here's the question I have for you." He said as they sat in the lower branches of what Lillian had called a 'climbing tree'.

She swung her legs back and forth over the empty air below, feeling a sense of freedom. "Ask away." She said easily.

'Well, okay…" He still hesitated and she stopped what she was doing to pay more attention. "The question is this- how?"

She made a face. "How what?"

"How are you managing? I've seen you every day just about, and you never seem to lose focus and energy. Not that your brother isn't like this too- but you're so… different, I guess?" He took his hat off and rolled it over in his hands, something she realized he did when there was a lot on his mind.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "How am I different?"

"No- not in a bad way." He said quickly. "It's just, I'm used to people stopping by my shop to talk or whatever and they're not usually so positive. I can't tell if you're genuinely this happy or if you're trying very hard to be that way. I don't know how you do it."

She looked away for a moment in thought, then slowly started swinging her legs again. "I guess… both?"

"You mean you can be both happy and not at the same time?" His voice was skeptical.

"Would you let me finish?" She laughed and elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ah!" He jumped easily an inch out of her way on the branch. "Watch it."

She smirked. "Are you done being dramatic? I won't let you fall."

"That's great because I don't plan on falling. I don't want to end this date with a few cracked ribs either."

Her smile fell. "That didn't hurt. Right? I didn't mean to but I was just- um did you just call this a date?" She blurted out.

He shook his head and waved a hand at her to disregard. "No- I was just thinking how people do things like this on dates, taking nature walks and all, but I'd do this with anyone- I mean, even by myself- uh, since I'm out here all the time." His voice trailed off and he ducked his head as he listened to what he was saying.

A second later she was still staring at him and his hat went right back up on his head to hide his eyes better. She had no idea what to say.

"We should get back, right?" He asked, not looking at her. "I just had that one question, it doesn't mean-"

"Cam. It's okay." She said shyly. "I don't mind taking a walk with you, there doesn't have to be a title attached to it. You had fun too, right?"

Emerald eyes glanced out from under the hat and he looked away again, chagrined. "I'm sorry. Yeah, it was fun." His smile was small as usual, but had so much more impact than she expected. Maybe it was his voice again- like the things he didn't know how to express he put into his tone of voice, and in… his expression?

"I have a question for you then." She announced. "And don't refuse to answer me either. I'll answer yours if you answer mine, and we'll be honest with each other, okay?"

He forgot his embarrassment out of curiosity, and the smirk was back on his lips. "Sure."

"First, give me your hat. I want to wear it on the way back."

He looked at her outstretched hand as if it were a snake. "Actually, no thank you."

"It's tied into my question. Please?" She tried asking nicer.

"Nice try. Get your own hat." He laughed, and swung himself down from the tree. "Do you need a hand?"

She leapt down after him and made a grab for the hat, only to have him catch her wrist easily. She gaped at him- she'd forgotten that he was one of Bluebell's most agile fighters. He had always been so calm. "Didn't work huh?" She covered her frustration with a mockery of it.

He shook his head and his hand still held her wrist out where he'd snatched it from the air.

"Um, let go of my wrist." She said without pulling.

"Why do you want my hat?" He asked mildly.

To his surprise a blush crept over her cheeks and she looked at the ground. He dropped her wrist immediately when she said, "Because you always hide under it."

As he looked away again, his eyes as usual were veiled from sight. She tried not to notice the pang of disappointment that she felt. She'd never get to see him now, not really. She'd only managed to freak him out or offend him. She was always like this- too direct. She looked away for second and thought about his question, it was good one for her to think about.

Then her apology died on her lips when he took the hounds tooth hat off his head and handed it to her silently. After another moment spent staring at him to be sure he was serious, she reverently took it and ran her fingertips over the thick fabric. She turned it over in her hands like he always did and when she looked up she saw the intensity of his eyes, watching her. He was choosing to trust her, and it spoke volumes.

_He really doesn't need that many words_… she thought, stunned by the sight of him then. She couldn't look away, and was having a hard time accruing enough brainwaves to form a complete sentence.

"Now you have my hat." He straightened up and his voice snapped her out of her reverie. "So I should get to have some enjoyment too."

For some reason her eyes went directly to his mouth and then away when traitor thoughts betrayed her. _Of course he doesn't mean that_.

"You never answered my question earlier, did you?" He asked admonishingly.

She blushed furiously. She was good at banter like this, and not usually rendered speechless in the middle of a conversation. "Oops. Well you caught me, I really was avoiding answering all along you know, so I could find out the secrets of this hat here and-."

He nodded again, playing along. "You may be right. Talk of happiness and sadness is way too out of place here! If it bothered you, then should I pick another question to start with?" He said as they started reluctantly on the path back to town.

…

She had never instinctively thought to kiss somebody before. Sure, he was striking, but she didn't think that was the only reason. In the moment he opened up to her and she felt… welcomed… it was hard not to refuse anything he would have asked or needed. She shuddered at the thought. It didn't sound like a good idea, to let her guard down around him. It was a weird thought; she had been around dozens of untrustworthy people when she and Phillip used to stay in shelters and at inns when cash was on hand. There was nothing of that kind of caution in her now. But what was it about Cam that struck an alarm in her? She couldn't think of one good reason for him to be devious or deceitful and still… she sighed, back to considering that he was going to 'non-threatening' for a while.

"That's a first." She told her new kitty Aurora who climbed up next to her on her couch. The kitty just stared at her out of her green, stripy-surrounded eyes as if she had said the most interesting thing in the world. Lillian giggled- Aura was just too cute- and scratched her ears until she started a long stream of purrs. "Usually I feel like I have to keep talking to keep everybody around in a good mood- it's weird to sit quietly with someone, isn't it?"

The kitty just kept up her purrs and stretched over Lillian's lap until the farm girl's foot began to fall asleep, and it took her another fifteen minutes to notice and she balanced her daily ledger on the table in front of her. Too much had gone on that day.

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AN: Proper Cam n Lillian time!

It was difficult to transition from fighting to this, let me tell you! (rambles for fifty minutes) There! Now that you know all the difficulties, at least we can celebrate the fact that I sort of know how they react to one another!

I really envy the authors that can outline a while book and put things down in order... I often fly by the seat of my pants... or more accurately the seat of my character's pants. **waggles eyebrows**


	41. Chapter 41: Heating Up

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Lillian's eyes were bleary over in the heat of the summer sun, and she had to remember to blink from time to time as everything was dry and the air felt like tinder around her. Sitting at the café she could have easily ordered something to drink, but if that drink put her earnings just a few gold below her brother's for the week she'd never heard the end of it. He kept winning, and she could wait to get refreshments if it gave her a shot to outpace him.

She closed her eyes and stretched her arms above her head, dutifully bending back over her farmer's almanac the moment after she opened her eyes again. It wasn't supposed to be a rainy summer, there was more like a drought on, and so far this little magazine-sized booklet had been right about everything from the rainfall to the humidity- practically none.

This meant that a lot of farms were having to pull from the rivers when their own springs were drying up, and more than a few ravines had become too muddy to easily use. Once again she wondered what was going on by the 'greener side' of the mountain.

_There is going to be so much to harvest soon over at the Konohana farm, I bet Phillip needs help with it next week._

She rolled her eyes at herself for thinking it, but she wanted to visit very badly- both Phillip and she had gone back to the original idea of 'meeting halfway' on the mountain, as they were too busy to forage, let alone make social calls to one another. She herself had had an emergency with her new calf and was unable to make the meeting last week, but there wasn't even time to feel sad about it- there was more work to do, even tonight.

"I have all those requests I responded too, too." She muttered, into her hands. "What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking it's better to be make money now and suffer later for it. That's a common theme with you." A non-judgmental tenor voice from over her shoulder said.

She glanced up and noticed she was in shadow now, where there was once the blazing sun overhead that should have been blinding.

"That's why you never bother with buying what you don't think you'll need, and don't admit when you do need to invest in something." Cam half-smiled down at her, leaning over with his own pale purple umbrella casting her in his welcome shade.

Too tired to properly retort, she muttered again instead, trying not to focus on him directly as he talked. _Distracting_…. "It's a common theme with you, Cam, in which you'll buy anything as long as it's your favorite color. You probably would pay an extra 25% more than anybody else for something that's purple. I should dye all my eggs that color and sell them to you first."

He shrugged. "It's not my favorite, it just happens to be unsurpassed when compared to all the others."

She opened her mouth to respond and thought better of it. He was just baiting her anyways.

He continued on without waiting for her. "If you get too hot in the sun, everything tends to be cooler around the flower bed-" He pointed towards his stand, then when he saw that she was watching angled himself to indicate the opposite direction. "Especially _all_ the way over by the fountain. I suggest you hang out there- it's a better place to go if you want less people to over hear you talking to yourself."

She grimaced: he was unmistakably smiling now. _What a jerk._

"Well, I have a business to run." He continued smartly, taking the shade and her thoughts away with him as his long silhouette was replaced with the blistering ball of fire that was the sun. She was, of course, looking directly up at it when he moved.

"Ugh." She squinted after him but everything was blurry again. It was hard to hear in the wind, but she was certain a chuckle had escaped his lips on the way by.

She raised an exhausted arm to Laney and garbled out an order for a plate of tomato salad and a glass of water.

Maybe it was time for a break after all.

…

Back at his stand, Cam watched her. It was impossible not to. She was luminous, flitting around from person to person every day with a friendly warmth that was in her every movement and expression. Her love of life and the adventure she was having seemed constantly written on her face. He knew she was missing her brother and doing everything on her own, but the resilience she showed and how she challenged herself to do more than she knew she could was hard not to admire. She was making a great addition to the town.

It was obvious there was a lot going on at Tales Ranch right now. Usually Lillian stopped to talk to him even when he was too caught up in something to respond politely- he turned his head from mixing a tincture when he heard her greeting the other day and by the time he was able to respond she had gone.

She stopped to talk to the others like Ash and Geo, but never really him. It shouldn't bother him as he didn't like to talk a lot but it did and he could admit the fact to himself.

He looked to his left and saw Laney sweeping a few crumbs away from the café's little stone patio and she noticed him, self-consciously turning her back as she swept.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on and he was the only one left out of it.

It had been a weird few weeks, for sure.

Was he crazy or were people avoiding him lately?

He shook his head at his own behavior just now as he shifted a few barrels of shade-partial blossoms under the umbrellas behind the stand.

He didn't know what had come over him to approach her directly like that. It wasn't really his style but he didn't really regret doing it, either.

For a few moments he lost track of time in bemusement at the memory, until from the café door Laney caught his eye and he realized she had been staring for a while.

'Focus, Cam…' he muttered to himself, getting back to the task at hand.

That afternoon Lillian came through the square again. Cam watched her from the corner of his eye , wondering what had come over him in that moment. He wasn't used to taunting people like that…or at least he was used to taunting people who irked him (like Kana) but not so much people that he thought were… decent.

_Maybe it's because she's interesting?_ He wondered it even as the word didn't seem a good fit for her.

His eyes fixed on the gerbera seedlings he was busy transplanting for next week, waylaying him with the truth at hand. Fall would be here soon… well before he was ever going to feel ready for it. He sighed, uneasy at finding his mind so easily set off track. Usually once he applied his mind to whatever task lay at hand his work would be done much more quickly. He was a very straight-forward and focused person. It may even be the only good thing about him!

But- there was a lot going on in his own life right now; maybe that was why he didn't have time to figure out the new farm girl?

In his heart he recognized the echo of error in this assumption, but tried to put it out of his mind. _It's fall in a week…_ he thought, somewhat bleakly, setting himself back to the matter at hand. _Of course my behavior has been off lately_.

Before he had time to muse further as he arranged the last few blossoms for the day, a familiar figure crossed the plaza, raspberry red coat blowing languidly in the wind. Cam smiled despite himself, happy to have his mind off his own out of town troubles. It couldn't be…

Uncharacteristically he raised his hand and yelled to get the new arrival's attention. "Dirk!"

…

At the sound of his name the young mailman snapped his head up, surprised. _Is that Cam. but older_? He looked at the impressive farm that had become Jessica's and shook his head. _The reunion with Ash can wait a moment. _Within moments he as standing in front of an old friend, tall and lanky but definitely the same kid he'd known so many years ago.

"Is that coat keeping you somehow cool today? You look ridiculous." Cam was grinning from ear to ear as Dirk walked around the flower stand and threw him into an enthusiastic hug.

"Still playing around with flowers I see." Dirk quipped in response after letting go. "Hopefully you're actually making some money now, or is this all to get away from helping Howard with the café?" The newcomer's ice green eyes flitted over to the cafe entrance with a mock frown. "You only made it what, thirty feet?"

Cam winced a bit in spite of himself. "You're as observant as ever." Was all he said, eyes still sparkling with excitement. "I can't believe you're in Bluebell of all places, what brings you back?"

Dirk reached into the satchel at his side and practically shoved a letter into Cam's hands by way of explanation. "Dad's letting me start my own business, and we've been in touch with both Mayors since we left, seems like things are becoming more peaceful here so he let me come back to try running the mail for a while."

Cam skimmed the letter from Dirk's father to his son, nodding slowly. "I knew your family left because of the conflict." He folded the letter back carefully and handed it back, sobering. "The peace has been somewhat forced, but I think the towns are beginning to think of each other a little more."

Noticing the change in his old friend's voice, Dirk followed Cam's gaze across the plaza to Grady's Animals, where a young girl seemed to be getting a new horse and cart from a Georgia. "Is she the new farmer everyone's so excited about? She's pretty. Is she why?" He asked, turning back to the flower stand.

When Cam didn't answer for a moment Dirk's casual smile took over his face again. "I think I'll go give my regards! I'll see you later Cam, I'll be by in the evenings if you have any …notes to pass along!"

Before Cam could say anything else the kid's energy had carried him away.


	42. Chapter 42: Perfectly Peaceful

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Kana hadn't expected a perfectly peaceful recovery, but the two weeks he was bedridden at the end of Spring and beginning of Summer proved to be some of the most difficult days in his young life so far.

He was lucky to have survived and he knew he should be thankful that Phillip got him out just in the nick of time, but even in sickness he wasn't one to sit still and do nothing. Mostly because he worked out his frustrations on the ranch and while patrolling the mountain, but he quickly began to realize how much he had relished being one of the strongest men in the village. The feeling of weakness reminded him too much of the past. Also because his father was always so hard-working and driven, it made Kana proud to emulate the strength of his old man and proudly support his family's legacy. Even if his family was just... himself right now.

He blindly grabbed for the wet washcloth from the bowl near where his futon was laid out and flopped it on his head to cool down some of the heat that rose from his body as he lay there, stewing in his own inability to move.

_Maybe in another… day? Two days? Dammit, how much longer?_

It was becoming more and more difficult to be grateful for anyone's help, especially as he was getting more clear minded by the hour and regrets came flooding in. In the stupor of those first few days several people had helped around the ranch, Hiro came by with medicine, Nori planted some oats in the back pasture for the horses, and young Rahi, Phillip and Mako had come by regularly to check on the pets, clean up after the horses, and help them get exercise.

Kana had hissed early on that Phillip was not allowed anywhere near Hayate (she only liked one or two people anyways) but the kid had casually mentioned that he had already taken her out for exercise, and that she 'seemed like a sweetheart'. It seemed like anyone Kana liked, liked Phillip more. Or at least, too much.

Isn't that why Lillian had stayed behind? Because Phillip had some unnatural need to protect his girl from Kana, even at the expense of her innocence- by leaving her to Bluebell?

Kana knew he should be thankful, but as the days raged on under a baking sun he found resentment, regret, and self-loathing to be his primary companions. If he could fish right now he could probably see that things were going to be okay, but it was no use the way things were now.

As if on cue, there was a soft knock on the door.

Kana grit his teeth, preparing to be nice to Phillip again when he was immediately relieved.

"Hey girl," He breathed, scooting up in bed to lean against the wall. His futon had become something of a nest by now.

"You don't have to get up," Nori said simply, putting a pot of water on the stove without asking. "I'm here to make you some stew so that when Hiro visits you have a chance to be nagged a little less for not eating enough."

He saw the way she smiled to herself and chuckled despite his deplorable mood. "Thanks Nori, you're a lifesaver. If I had to see Rahi or Phillip one more time I think I'd have a coronary. There's such a thing as an overly-helpful attitude. Uh- not that I don't appreciate you coming by." He scratched the back of his head, noting that he wasn't dizzy for once sitting up.

She turned and smiled. "No worries, Kana. I know what you mean. And Hiro's like a nagging old lady sometimes, except that Yun does it better. He should take classes from her." She giggled. "Is an egg rice bowl okay?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. I could really go for some kimchi right now too."

"You say that every summer!" She admonished casually. "You know grandpa doesn't make any until fall."

Kana groaned dramatically. "I know and that's weeks away, a guy could die before then!"

"You won't." She finished chopping everything and turned the pan down to a light simmer before coming to sit politely near the futon. "So how are you feeling, really?"

He tried to avoid the earnest look in her eyes, and failed, finding himself answering honestly. "I'm alright- well kind of irritated lately…"

_Damn. I forgot how forward Nori can be when she wants to know something_.

She nodded as if it didn't matter to her one way or the other. "It has to be hard letting other people take care of your ranch for you. I know how proud you are of it."

"If you knew how I was feeling then why'd you ask?" He growled out of the side of his mouth, looking up at the ceiling.

"Because it helps to talk about it sometimes. Did you want to?" She asked.

"Heck no!" He said, louder than he intended.

She blinked. "Oh. Well okay then."

"Ugh. Sorry, Nori." _Way to be a jackass…_

She sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them it was her turn to study something on the wall. "It's fine Kana really. I just, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Fire away."

"Well, Phillip and Lilian- they're kind of amazing, aren't they?"

Lillian's face flashed before him, lit by the sun and smiling. Then Phillips', brandishing his arrogant smile on the waterfall bridge. "They're okay, I guess…"

"Do you think I work hard enough?" She burst out, her black eyes uncharacteristically wide.

Kana laughed. "What do you mean, do you work hard enough? You just need to be yourself! You're a big help to old man Gombe, right?"

Nori stared for a moment, finally nodding. "I know I help him, but it's just the way those two are. I don't think I feel jealous, but they're really doing well and everything just seems like a great adventure to them. Plus, they're always ready to do something new. Do you think I'm …boring, just doing the same thing every day?"

Without thinking Kana shrugged. "How should I know? You're Nori."

Nori snorted, before putting her hand up to her mouth over what seemed a small smile. "I'm sorry that was unladylike. But you're a terrible comfort."

He shrugged. "I'm not Hiro."

"I know…"

Watching Nori's face he saw a small look of longing on it and finally began to understand. "That's it, isn't it- you're still stuck on him, huh?"

She looked at him again. "Well- I… I'm not sure. I think I may be… getting over him a bit. He just never notices me…"

Kana nodded. Nori's one-sided admiration for Hiro was known to half the town. If it wasn't known by someone Ayame would be sure to mention it at the first opportunity whenever one of them was around. But for Hiro's part, he never seemed to get the hint. Maybe he was just too wrapped up in his study, no time for his old friend? "So what's the dilemma? If you tell him directly and he doesn't go for it, what are you gonna do? Maybe you should think about that." He advised.

"Well- I don't know. I have told him and honestly, Phillip is so much more interesting lately."

In that one comment Kana felt his good humor suddenly begin to wither away again. "You don't say." _What could he have possibly done to make himself interesting in only the last two weeks?_

Nori frowned. "I didn't say I like him like that, I just think I could learn from him, you know?"

"I'll bet." Kana continued to scowl until it was time to drop the egg and finish the soup, so Nori gratefully got up and tended to it.

Before she could bolt out the door after serving the food, Kana stopped her.

"Nori- thanks. Also, can I ask you something?"

She hesitated, half a foot into the other room already. "Yes, what is it?"

"Would you help me up to see Hayate? I miss getting to see my girl."

She smiled, glad he wasn't going to press the issue. "Sure."

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A/N: Welcome back to Konohana, boys and girls! Kana's actually well-liked in Konohana, he's just more polarizing to the situation with the twins because he's been so close to it. But overall he's a pretty chill guy- that's what having feelings like he does for Lillian confuses him, he's really not that experienced at trying to be nice to girls. There's been nobody he wanted to consider that way before. How troubling for him :D

We'll be in this town for a few chapters, catching up to the Lillian's timeline at the end of summer.


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